The Margret Gilbert Story
by Jyuoa
Summary: Margret Gilbert is Jeremy's twin sister. As she tries to keep her family together after the accident, she notices changes in her friends and sister. What happens when she finally learns about the supernatural world? Now on Season 2. Rated T just in case. I Do Not own TVD
1. Pilot

Margret Gilbert looked in her bedroom mirror. She was wearing a new jacket, jeans, and a bright green shirt. Her mid-length dark hair fell just above her shoulders. She picked up her backpack and headed downstairs, meeting up with the rest of the family. Since their parents died in the crash, she had found herself growing closer to her twin brother and older sister.

"Toast. I can make toast." Aunt Jenna was saying.

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna." Elena told her.

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy asked.

"Please, too much of that stuff is bad for you." Margret pointed out.

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Jeremy told her.

"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared." Aunt Jenna said. "Lunch money?"

"I'm good." Elena said. "You, Margret?"

"Same here." She told her.

"Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?" Jenna asked.

"Aunt Jenna, breathe." Margret said. "Take a deep breath and calm down." Jenna did as she was told. She never understood the whole New Age thing like Margret did, but it sure came in handy sometimes.

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" Elena asked.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at..." She checked her watch. "Now. Crap!"

"Then go. We'll be fine." Elena told her. "You ok?"

"Don't start." Jeremy said, walking out the door.

"He's just taking it a little harder than we are, Elena." Margret told her. "But he'll come around eventually."

"I hope you're right, Margie. For his twin, you are way different from him." Elena brushed a strand of stray hair back.

"Well, we are fraternal you know." The girls headed out the door.

Margret was in the backseat of Bonnie's car when she felt something was going to be different.

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic." Bonnie was telling them. "Our ancestors were from Salem, which isn't all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it." Margret tuned her out and focused on the sky. They were passing by the cemetery, where her parents were.

"Elena!" Bonnie yelled. That got Margret's attention. "Back in the car."

"So I wasn't the only one." Margret said to herself.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Elena asked. "I-I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that..."

"That I'm psychic now." Bonnie told her. Margret rolled her eyes. She couldn't tell if she was for real or not. Margret herself spent a lot of time reading about New Age stuff, but was skeptic when it came to psychics.

"Right. Ok, then predict something." Elena said. "About me."

"This oughta be interesting." Margret said.

"Okay, I see..." Bonnie began. Suddenly, banged against the car's windshield. Margret's hand flew up to her heart. Whatever it was had scared her.

"What was that? Oh, my god! Are you two ok?"

"It's ok. I'm fine." Elena said.

"I'll live." Margret told them.

"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere." Bonnie said.

"Okay, we get it." Margret said.

"Really, I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life." Elena pointed out.

"I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you are going to be beyond happy." Bonnie told her.

They entered the school together. It didn't take long for Caroline to get the jump on them. "Oh, my god. How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you." She turned to Bonnie. "How is she? Is she good?"

"Caroline, I'm right here." Elena pointed out. "And I'm fine. Thank you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Much better." Margret knew she was lying, but wasn't going to bring it up in front of them. She went over to Matt.

"Hey, Matt."

"How are you guys doing?" He asked her.

"It's still a little hard." Margret told him. "But she's still trying to be strong for us."

"I'll see you later. I've got class." Matt told her. She wanted to kick herself for bringing up Elena. She knew they had broken up four months earlier. She had no idea he wasn't over her yet.

Margret stepped outside. "Margret! Oh, thank goodness you came!" A girl ran over to her and hugged her. "I am so sorry about what happened. Are you okay?"

"Watch it, Amy." Margret told her. "I just ran into your cousin in there."

"Oh, sorry. Did she say anything stupid?" Amy asked her. Her brown hair fell back behind her.

"What do you think?" Margret asked. "It's easy to see it's a family thing though, Miss Robinson." She walked away from her. She wondered if all the girls in the Forbes family tree inherited the annoying gene when a girl with long dark hair ran over to her. Her curls bounced as she ran.

"Margret!" She hugged her. "It's so good to see you again."

"Melody, I missed you this summer. How are you?" Margret asked.

"I was taking music lessons." Melody told her. "I wanted to show you something. Come on." They ran into the music room.

"What are we doing here?"

"You know how I always come up with my own music pieces?" Melody reminded her. Margret looked to her best friend. She knew that she was good at anything when it came to making music. She was awesome at not only writing pieces that described how she felt, but also did some cool covers.

"Yeah."

"Well, I worked on this for a few weeks." Melody told her. She sat down at the piano and started playing.

"Wow. It really describes how I felt after…"

"I know." Melody said. "It's kinda why I wrote it." Slowly, Margret started dancing to it. She had taken dance lessons since she was a little girl and knew a lot of different styles of dance. The girls were so lost in their own world that they didn't notice when a guy walked in.

"Hey. Having music practice at school now?" The girls turned around.

"Alex! Robert! What are you doing here?" Melody asked.

"I followed the music to find my sister and her friend in here." Robert told her.

"Just cause you're my brother, it doesn't mean I need protection, Rob." Melody pointed out.

"Hey, Margret." Alex said.

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"I'm still kinda dealing with it." Margret told him.

"It'll get easier, I promise." Alex told her. He gave her a small hug. Margret blushed and slowly backed up.

"Uh, we have to get to class, don't we?" She reminded Melody.

"Oh, that's right!" If it was one thing about Melody she knew, it was that besides music, she was also a total bookworm and took her schoolwork seriously.

"Will you be at the Grill later?" Alex asked as the girls started to run off.

"We'll all be there." Melody pointed out. "See you."

That evening, the group was sitting around the Grill. "Man, why'd I get stuck in Tanner's class again?" Amy asked.

"On the first day?" Melody asked. "That must be painful."

"I still don't see how I didn't get in his class." Margret said. "Then again, considering the way my siblings have complained about it, I'm kind of relieved."

"You're lucky, Margret." Rob said. "Tanner can be such an…"

"Watch it!" Melody reminded him. "She's not a big fan of cursing, remember?"

"Right, the New Age geek."

"Hey, cut it out, man." Alex said.

"So, did you hear about the new guy?" Amy asked. "Care cannot stop talking about him."

"Great, you're cousin's on the prowl again." Margret said. As if on cue, Caroline and Bonnie walked in. Margret and her group were sitting near the front, so they caught everything.

"His name is Stefan Salvatore. He lives with uncle up at the old Salvatore boarding house. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family, so they moved around a lot. He's a Gemini, and his favorite color is blue." Caroline was telling her.

"You got all of that in one day?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh, please, I got all that between third and fourth period. We're planning a June wedding."

"You can't be serious." Amy said.

"Hey, I can dream, can't I?" Caroline asked.

"I so cannot believe her sometimes." Amy said.

"Well, it's easy to see the similarities between you two." Melody pointed out. "You both talk a lot."

"So, you were saying about the new guy?" Margret asked. Anything to avoid a public argument.

"Well, I heard he moved here from Italy a few years ago." Amy told them.

"Didn't your cousin say he lived at the old Boarding House?" Rob asked. "Think he's related to the old gardener that lives there?"

"I thought that place was abandoned." Alex said.

"Apparently not." Melody said.

"I'll be right back." Margret told them. She went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. Then she noticed herself in the mirror. It was true she looked great without make-up, but sometimes she still felt insecure about it. She walked back out and noticed that her small group had joined the others. She went over to join as well.

"How's Elena doing?" Matt asked.

"Her mom and dad died. How do you think?" Bonnie pointed out. "She's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months."

"I can see that she's still trying to get over it." Margret told him. "It's been a little hard, on all of us."

"Has she said anything about me?"

"Oh, no. So not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her." Bonnie told him.

"Seriously, man. What's with you?" Rob asked.

"I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me."

"Get over it, man!" Amy said. "So what if she did."

"Amy, he isn't over her yet. Just like she's not over the accident, not completely." Margret pointed out.

"Give it more time, Matt." Bonnie said. Suddenly, the door to the Grill opened and Elena entered, with a guy none of them had never seen before.

"Oh, wow." Amy said. "Who is that guy?"

"He must be the one that everyone's talking about." Melody said.

"He's kinda short, isn't he?" Rob asked.

"Hey, not everything is measured in height." Alex pointed out.

"Guys, remember he's new around here." Margret told them. "It wouldn't hurt if you toned down the excitement a little."

"She's got a point." Melody said.

Matt walked over to him. "Hey, I'm Matt, nice to meet you."

"Hi. Stefan."

"Hey." Elena said to Matt.

"Hey."

"Hey, guys?" Amy interrupted. "Maybe we better find a bigger table."

It wasn't long before everyone was sitting together. "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline was asking.

"Mm-Hmm. And moved when I was still young." Stefan told them.

"Parents?" Bonnie asked.

"My parents passed away." Margret and her group looked at each other uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry." Elena said. "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to." Stefan told them.

"That's sad." Margret said.

"Yeah, I couldn't imagine not talking to Rob here." Melody said.

"I live with my uncle." Stefan said. He turned to Melody and Rob. "So, you two are siblings?"

"I know." Rob said. "It's hard to tell at first, but you get used to it."

"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." Caroline said.

"It's a back to school thing at the falls." Bonnie explained to him.

"Are you going?" Stefan asked Elena.

"Of course she is." Bonnie said.

"We all are." Amy added.

"Uh, no we're not." Margret said. "The forest is too dangerous."

"What are you so afraid of?" Amy asked. Truth was, Margret hadn't gone to the woods since after the accident, afraid that she might get hurt.

"Don't be so insensitive!" Melody defended. She knew Margret was still scared of the woods.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I intend to enjoy myself." Amy told them.

"I'm know I'm going." Rob said. "What about you?"

"Yeah, I am." Alex said.

"Well, I hope you have fun." Margret told him. He looked at her. "You'll survive one party without me."

"Yeah, I know." Alex said.

The following evening, Melody had come over to Margret's house. Jenna came into the room. "Hey, you two need anything?"

"We're good, Aunt Jenna." Margret told her.

"If you need anything, let me know." Jenna said. "I'll be upstairs." She walked out of the room.

"You're aunt's…"

"I know, she's just nervous because she's new at the whole parenting thing." Margret said. "But she means really well, I can tell that. She gave up a lot for us."

"Well, you're all under eighteen." Melody pointed out. She sat down at the small piano in the living room.

"I know."

"So, what's the real reason you didn't go to the party?" Melody asked. "I know the forest is one thing, but…" She pressed one of the piano keys.

"I'm worried about my twin." Margret told her. "It hurts to see him getting high all the time. It's like he's sabotaging his own life."

"At least you didn't become as reserved as your sister." Melody pointed out, lightly pressing a few of the keys.

"No, but I still keep a journal like she does." Margret admitted. "Still, I'm glad I'm focused on my interests. If I ever ended up like Jeremy…" She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if the situation were reversed. Would he try to help me?"

"You know he would." Melody said. "After all, twins always look out for each other." She started playing the piano again.

"You learned this song?" Margret asked.

"One of the first covers I practiced." Melody explained. "Besides, you're not the only one who wonders what it'd be like if it were different." Margret sat down on the couch. In addition to knowing how to write music, Melody was a talented singer. Margret glanced out the window at the night sky. She wondered sometimes what things would be like if her parents were still around. She leaned against the sofa.

A few minutes later, Amy called her. "Hey, how's the party?"

"You were right not to show up tonight." Amy told her. She sounded scared.

"Amy, what happened?"

"A girl was attacked in the woods." Margret froze. "They're taking her to a hospital."

"Do they know what caused it?" Margret asked.

"No, but we're all convinced it was an animal attack." Amy told her. "I'm getting ride home with Rob and Alex. He'll come by to pick up Melody. I'd go with my cousin, but she's disappeared somewhere."

"Is Jeremy okay?" Margret asked. She was scared for him and Elena.

"I think so. He's probably in shock, though. He's the one who found the girl. Or was it Elena? Either way, they're both going to be fine. A little shaken, but fine."

"Thanks for telling me." Margret said. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Melody told her.

"Someone was attacked at the party." Margret explained. "My siblings are okay, though."

"Guess I should get going." Melody said. "Rob's probably going to tell me what went down, anyway."

"I'll try to find some protective crystals. I think I've got a few in my room." Margret told her.

"A few? Margie, you have like over a dozen of those crystals in your room for anything. Protection, healing, probably heart disease."

"There's no crystal for heart disease. But there are some that help cardio…"

"Whatever. I'm going so that I don't worry him, okay?" Melody cut her off. "I'll see you at school." As she left, Aunt Jenna walked in.

"Is everything okay here?"

"Yeah," Margret said. "I'm just tired, that's all." She went up to her room. A few minutes later, she heard her siblings arguing.

"You need to move on, Jer." Elena was saying.

"You mean like you? Writing in your diary at the cemetery? That's you're idea of moving on?" Jeremy asked.

"Whoa! Enough." Margret said, stepping out into the hall to intervene. "You two have both been through had a hard time with this attack that happened. Don't take it out on each other. You can go back to fighting in the morning." They looked at her.

"Whatever. Goodnight." Jeremy went to his room. Elena watched him leave the room. She felt Margret grab her hand and turned to look at her.

"It's okay if you still miss them." Margret told her. "I miss them sometimes, too."

"I'm glad I've still got you." Elena said, embracing her. "You should get some rest. It's going to be a rough day tomorrow."

"Okay." Margret headed back to her room. She had a feeling that tomorrow would be interesting.


	2. Night of the Comet

The next morning, Margret woke up feeling strange. She had a weird dream where she was running. She had no idea what from. "Just a dream. Pull yourself together." She got up and ran into her sister and aunt outside. She immediately noticed Elena was in a better mood.

"Do I look adult? As in respectfully parental?" Jenna asked.

"Depends where you're going." Elena said.

"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference." Jenna explained. "Hair up or down?"

"Personally, I think it looks nice when you put it up." Margret told her.

"She's got a point." Elena said.

"Up it is. You're feisty today."

"I feel good, which is rare. So I've decided to go with it." Elena told them. "Fly free, walk on sunshine, and all that stuff. Where is Jeremy?"

"He left early. Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse." Jenna told them. Elena and Margret looked at each other. They knew that wasn't true. "There is no wood shop, is there?"

"No." Elena said.

"Please, woodshop? He couldn't even finish that birdhouse when we were little." Margret pointed out. "I ended up finishing the project."

"I think he's worried about Vicki." Elena told her. "I don't know where he is, though. Did he say anything to you?"

"No." Margret said. "But I could tell something was off about him last night."

At school, she ran into the others. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"I'm a little shaken because of last night, but otherwise fine." Amy admitted. "I should've listened to you."

"It wasn't your fault, Amy. Things like this can happen."

"Tell that to my aunt." Amy said. "Good thing she wasn't there last night."

"Please, she would've totally busted us." Rob pointed out.

"How's that girl doing, anyway?" Margret asked.

"I saw Matt earlier. He said that she seemed to be doing a little better." Rob told her. "Poor Vicki. Guess that's what happens when you end up in the woods alone."

"No wonder Jer's been so worried." Margret said. "I think he went to see her this morning."

"She'll probably be okay." Alex said. "I mean, if she's already starting to recover."

"I really hope you're right."

Outside, Alex ran noticed Jeremy and Tyler in some kind of argument. He walked over to them. "Whoa, guys. Back off."

"Who invited you, dude?"Tylerasked.

"Seriously, man. Margret's his sister and I don't think she'll be happy if she finds out you gave him a broken nose or something." He told him. "So both of you, back off."Tylerwalked away from them. "You okay?" Jeremy nodded. "What was all that about?"

"I don't know. I'm just tired of him treating Vicki like dirt." Jeremy explained. "And I sort of like her, but please don't tell anyone."

"I won't." Alex said. "You know, you should really watch it aroundTyler. The kid's got a bad temper and he's really bad news. For everyone's sake, please don't get involved."

"I know, Alex. But I can't help but be worried about her. I'm the one who found her lying there."

"I know. I was there, remember?" Alex pointed out. "I'll see you later."

Rob was sitting with Elena and Matt. "Hey, you two doing okay? Last night was really hard on you guys."

"Yeah. We're fine." Elena told him. She turned to Matt. "So, how's Vicki doing?"

"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow." Matt said.

"That's good news."

"Yeah."

"Did you get in touch with your mom?"

"Called and left a message. She's inVirginia Beachwith her boyfriend, so... we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."

"Vicki's lucky that she's ok."

"I know, and now there's talk of some missing campers."

"I'm glad she's okay. If anything had happened to Melody, I'd be in the same position." Rob pointed out.

"It's good to know that we'd always look out for our siblings." Matt said.

"Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?" Elena asked.

"She said it was a vampire." Matt told them.

"What?" Elena and Rob asked at the same time.

"Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters "vampire" and then passes out."

"OK, that is weird." Elena said.

"You sure she wasn't possessed by something?" Rob asked.

"I think you've been hanging around my sister too much." Elena told him. "Since when are you superstitious?"

"I think she was drunk." Matt told them. "So what's up with you and the new guy?" Rob decided to leave, not wanting to hear about his friend's sister's love life.

In the cafeteria, the girls were sitting together when the guys came over. "Hey." Alex said. "I saw you're brother a few minutes ago. He was on edge and tense. Whatever happened to Vicki really got to him."

"I'm really worried about him." Margret said. "It's hard enough just to deal with him and his stoner problem."

"The only thing you can do right now is be there for him, Margie." Melody pointed out. "Hey, Rob. What's up?"

"Vicki's okay." Rob said. "I saw Matt. He's going to the hospital to see when she wakes up."

"That's good news." Amy said.

"Yeah. He's hoping to find out what happened to her." Rob told them. "She was half-awake when he tried to talk to her last time."

"She's lucky she even survived that." Amy pointed out. "But it could've just as easily been one of us."

"Don't even say that, Amy!" Melody said. "I couldn't imagine what I'd do if any one of you guys got hurt."

"Relax." Margret said. "Look, maybe we should stay away from the woods. If we do decide to go there, we'll always go with someone. Okay?"

"Did you really just suggest using the buddy system?" Amy asked.

"Look, do you want to be the next one attacked?" Margret asked. Everyone looked at each other and muttered words of agreement. "I didn't think so."

In the hallway, the group walked together. "You know, you could've handled that better." Alex told her.

"I know. It's just…this whole attack has me pretty shaken too. It kinda hits close to home, since my twin brother and older sister found her." Margret said.

"Look, everything's going to be fine. You heard what Rob said back there. Vicki's okay."

"I hope your right, Alex."

At home, Jeremy and Margret walked in and saw Jenna. "I picked up dinner. Tacos. I had an urge for guacamole."

"No, I'm good, thanks." Jeremy told her.

"Uh, I'm kinda a vegetarian, remember?" Margret pointed out.

"Oh, sorry about that." Jenna said. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to Jeremy. Why don't you both sit down?" They sat with her. "Back in school, freshman year, I could eat my weight in nachos, with extra cheese. It was my munchie food whenever I got stoned." Margret stared at her in surprise.

"You get high?" Jeremy asked.

"Did. Past tense. But, yeah. Loved it. Anything to get a little distraction from life... reality." Jenna explained. "And it worked. For a while. Never lasts, though. Hey, I'm not saying I wouldn't love to rail back and kick it, but with a thesis looming and a waistline expanding..."

"I think you've made you're point, but he's still not buying it." Margret said as she watched her twin brother leave the table.

"I normally wouldn't ask this, but isn't there anything in you're books about dealing with this kind of problem?" Jenna asked her.

"Well, I know there's something that can help with alcoholism, but I don't know if there's anything for substances." Margret admitted. "I'll see if I can look anything up, but I can't make any promises, Aunt Jenna."

"This whole parenting thing is hard." Jenna said, embracing her.

"I know. But you've never let us down." Margret pointed out. "Give it some time. It's only been a few months."

"You're really smart for you're age, you know that?" Jenna said. "Go on upstairs. I'm sure you're sister will be home any minute."

A few hours later, Elena came in. She was talking to Jenna about Stefan. At least, that's what Margret assumed.

"He's on the rebound and has raging family issues."

"Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues." Jenna told her.

"You've been through a lot of weird stuff, Aunt Jenna." Margret said.

"Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?" Jenna asked.

"More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's... that's cool."

"Oh, no, no, no!" The girls watched in surprise as she threw something at Jeremy's head.

"Ow! Why? Why... why did you do that?"

"Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion."

"Parental authority, I like it. Sleep tight." Margret turned to Elena.

"Did she just throw an apple at him?"

"And I thought his family had issues." Elena said.

"We'll just have deal with our family's issues for now." Margret said. She went up to her room.

The next day, the group was outside distributing flyers. "You are so coming to see the comet with us." Amy said. "Considering you bailed on that party."

"Hey, you agreed not going was a good idea." Margret pointed out.

"So, the astrological researcher's going to skip out?" Rob asked.

"Oh no way." Melody said. "If I'm going, she's going. So stop teasing her, bro." Margret turned and saw Bonnie arguing with Elena.

"All I'm hearing is reasons why you can't." Bonnie told her.

"What's going on?" Margret asked.

"Bonnie's convinced that I'm afraid to start seeing him." Elena said.

"You think she's right?" Elena didn't answer. "Look, the one thing you always told me is that it's okay to feel scared. But that doesn't mean that fear has to control you." Margret pointed out.

"You're right." Elena pointed out. "Sometimes it's just hard to follow your own advice. So, you going to this comet thing?"

"Well, my friends kinda dragged me into it." Margret admitted. "Though, it does sound kinda cool."

Alex was at the Grill. He knew it wouldn't be long before the others found him. He noticed Jeremy and Vicki talking. ThenTylercame over. "Hey, Vick. How you feeling?"

"Like you care." She told him.

"What are you lookin' at, Gilbert?"

"Guys, this really isn't the right time for this." Alex pointed out.

"It's fine. I was just leaving anyway." Jeremy told him. He walked away from them.

"Man, that kid's got issues."Tylersaid.

"That's weird. Cause that's what everyone else says about you." Alex told him. "You've got to stop with the whole king-of-the-world routine. It's getting old."

"He's right, Ty." Vicki said. "Besides, I need support, not you two fighting each other. For my sake, can you try to get along with him?"

"I can't make any promises, Vicki." Alex chose that moment to leave and join everyone else outside.

"Where've you been, man?" Rob asked.

"Sorry I'm late. I know." Alex said.

"Here." Amy handed him a spare candle she was carrying. "My cousin found them. She thought it'd be cool."

"Are you sure it wasn't Margie's idea?" Rob asked.

"It wasn't my idea." Margret said, appearing in front of them with Melody. "This was all Caroline." The two girls already had their candles lit.

"Uh, Amy? Did you forget the matches again?" Melody asked.

"Are you kidding? After that little house fire during her last party, she was banned from it." Rob said.

"You're such a jerk." Amy said.

"Dude, come on." Alex said.

"I'm sorry." Rob told her. "I don't know why I said that." Melody walked over to Amy and lit her candle with her own. Amy looked at her.

"Thanks, Melody." She went over to Rob and repeated her action. Alex touched his candle to Margret's. They looked at each other before he pulled it back.

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Margret told him. "Wow. It's really beautiful." Everyone turned to look at the sky.

"It really is something." Rob said.

"I think it's kinda romantic." Amy said. "It's too bad I don't have a boyfriend."

"None of us do, yet." Melody pointed out.

"What happened with…"

"We broke it off because he didn't understand my love for music."

"I'm going to remember this night for a long time." Alex said.

"We all are." Margret pointed out.

Later on, everyone was hanging out at the Grill when Jeremy walked in. "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?" He asked.

"You're her stalker. You tell us."Tylerreplied.

"I can't find her." Everyone looked at each other.

"I didn't even see her outside during the comet." Rob told the others.

"It isn't like her to just disappear, though." Alex said.

"She probably found somebody else to party with."Tylersaid. "Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

"What?" Margret asked. She was in shock.

"What's with the pill pusher?" Elena added.

"Ask him."

"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asked.

"Are you dealing?" Elena asked.

"I had no idea it was this bad." Margret told the others.

"We'll help you get through this, Margie." Melody pointed out.

"She's never gonna go for you."Tylertold him.

"She already did. Over and over and over again." Jeremy said.

"You slept with Vickie Donovan? I mean, Vickie Donovan slept with you?" Caroline asked.

"Wow. Someone's a bit slow on the uptake." Amy said. The rest of her group stared at her. "What? It was obvious to me when they started hanging out."

"There's no way."Tylersaid.

"And I didn't even have to force her into it."

"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt spoke up.

"Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk."

"And you're a jerk." Margret said. "Don't talk about my twin that way."

"You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" Matt said.

"We'll check the back." Bonnie told them. She, Caroline, Melody, and Amy headed out back.

"I'll check the square."

"I'll come with you." Jeremy offered.

"Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me." Elena said. "Margret, can you go with him instead?" Margret nodded and decided to go with Matt. They were joined by Rob, Alex, and Tyler.

"So that's your game now, dealing?" Elena asked.

"I'm not dealing."

"Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's really having no impact."

"You and Jenna, between the two of you..."

"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me."

"I vote for none of the above." Jeremy began to walk away. Elena wasn't about to give up yet, though.

"Did you ever consider how this is hurting Margret?" Elena asked. "It hurts her to see you this way, Jer. She's really worried about you."

"I'll try to cool it down a bit, but I can't promise anything." Jeremy told her.

Outside, Matt's team ran into Stefan. "Hey, have you seen Vicki anywhere?" Matt asked.

"No, why?"

"Long story short, she's gone missing." Margret said.

"It's almost like she disappeared." Rob added.

"I'll help any way I can." Stefan told them.

"Thank you." Matt said. When they got to the square, they decided to split up. "Okay, I'll check over by the fountain."

"I'll look near the park with Alex."

"We'll check the opposite side."Tylersaid. He grabbed Margret's arm. "Hey. Sorry about back there. It's just your twin has issues, you know?"

"Just because he's a stoner doesn't mean he's trouble." Margret said. "You know what happened to us last spring. So just back off. He needs to find a better way to deal with it and you don't make it easy." She left with Alex to check the park.

In the alley, the girls weren't having much luck. "Are you sure she'd be somewhere out here?" Melody asked.

"Stoners tend to hang out in the weirdest places." Caroline said.

"Hey, just cause she's got the same problem as Jer, it doesn't make her weird." Amy pointed out.

"True, but even before she started doing this, she was pretty weird." Bonnie pointed out. "Remember when she came to the dance withTylerlast year?"

"How can anyone forget? She nearly passed out after an hour." Caroline said.

"I thought she was drunk." Amy told her.

"Well, one thing's sure. She isn't here." Melody said. "Can we please go back in now? This place gives me the creeps." Suddenly, she got a text message from Matt.

-Vicki's okay.

"Looks like they found her."

Back inside the Grill, everyone met up together. "She said you found her wandering around."

"Yeah."

"So, um, thanks."

"I'm going to head home." Margret told her friends. "It's been a long night."

At home, Margret met Elena downstairs. "Hey, is Jeremy with you?"

"No, I think he's still at the Grill." Margret told her. Then they heard something move upstairs. They went into Jeremy's room.

"Jer?"

"No, it's me, the hypocrite patrol." Aunt Jenna told them, looking through Jeremy's things.

"What are you doing?" Margret asked.

"I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy." She found some pills. "Jackpot. I see the hiding places vent gotten any more creative."

"What brought this on?" Elena asked.

"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday." Jenna told them.

"Ugh. That guy's a jerk. Ignore him." Margret told her.

"You got Tannered. Been there." Elena added.

""Discover the impossible, Ms. Sommers." Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up." Jenna sat on the bed.

"You're not screwing up, Aunt Jenna." Elena pointed out.

"Yes, I am. You know why?" Jenna told them. "Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse, and it's gonna be my fault. It's impossible."

"This is just the fear talking. You're a little scared, that's all." Elena pointed out. "We all are."

"Besides, you aren't screwing up." Margret said. "I know it's hard to deal with Jeremy's issues, but we'll find a way to help him."

"I have to go do something." Elena said. "But are you going to be okay?" Jenna didn't answer her.

"I'll be right here with her. Just do what you have to do, Elena." Margret told her. Elena smiled at her and left the room.

"Look, don't let him get to you, Aunt Jenna." Margret said. "Tanner is always pointing out everyone's flaws and making them feel bad about themselves. If you want my opinion, I think you're doing a good job of things around here."

"You really think that?"

"Of course. If it weren't for you, who knows where we'd be right now?" Margret asked. "You've really helped us out these past few months."

"How do you always know the right thing to say?" Jenna asked, embracing her.

"I don't know. I think I take after Elena in that department."

After a few minutes, she went back to her room and wrote in her journal for a while. Then she noticed a few crystals on the table. Whenever she had trouble getting to sleep, she'd stay up and make them into charm bracelets or necklaces. She picked up a couple of them and began to work on a bracelet.


	3. Friday Night Bites

At school, Margret ran into her friends. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, ready for practice today?" Amy asked.

"You know it." Margret said. "I was thinking of trying out for track, but I think this could be interesting."

"So, what was up with you're sister this morning?" Melody asked.

"I think Bonnie was trying to talk her out of dating." Margret said. "Which is strange, even for her."

"She's been acting kinda strange since school started." Rob pointed out. "Staring into space during class, writing the weirdest things in her notebooks."

"You've been sitting next to her again, haven't you?" Melody asked.

"I wonder if what she has is some form of ADD." Rob said.

"That doesn't make sense." Margret said. "She's a straight-A student. Well, with the exception of history."

"So, you coming to practice, man?" Alex asked.

"I don't think so. I'm already locked up on the basketball team." Rob told him.

"So, I'm doing both." Alex pointed out.

"Not all of us are that talented." Melody pointed out.

Margret and Amy were walking outside when they noticed Bonnie walking away from Elena. "Hey, you two aren't fighting or anything, are you?" Margret asked.

"Of course not." Bonnie told her. "I'm just not sure about the new guy."

"You know, you could at least try to get to know him." Amy said as she walked off. "Even I'm not that shallow."

"Hey, guys." Alex ran into Matt and Tyler on the field.

"Look... there's Elena and her new boyfriend. Now, what are they doing? Oh, they're walking, walking, walking. Yep. Right into the sunset." Tyler said.

"Dude, give him a break." Alex told him. "It's hard being the new kid."

"How would you know?" Matt asked.

"Melissa transferred here in the middle of the year, remember?" Alex pointed out.

"Oh, yeah." Matt ran his hand through the back of his hair. "Anyway, what am I supposed to do, Ty? She made her choice."

"Let her know she made the wrong one." Tyler said.

"What are you doing? Ty, don't!" Tyler threw the ball at Stefan.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alex asked. Margret and Amy were walking past, so they saw all of what happened next. Not only did Stefan manage to catch it, he threw it back to Tyler. All of the guys looked at him in surprise.

"Am I dreaming or did you see that, too?" Amy asked. Margret nodded.

In the cafeteria, they sat with the others. "You guys should've been there." Amy said. "Tyler tried to deck the new guy with a football…"

"And he intercepted it." Alex finished.

"Exactly." Amy said. "It sounds like you might be getting a new teammate this year."

"I'm not sure if it's anything he'd want to do. I mean, the guy just moved here." Melody pointed out.

"Last I heard, Elena was trying to convince him to try out for the team." Rob told them.

"I guess it'd be cool, but then there's Tyler." Alex pointed out.

"Of course. The team narcissist." Margret said. "Honestly, why does he always have to be such a jerk?"

"Well, he is the Mayor's son. All that pressure is probably part of it." Melody said.

"Or the fact that he and you're brother are both have it bad for Vicki Donovan." Rob told them.

"Whatever the case is, he's got to back off." Amy said. "If he doesn't change after this game, I'm quitting. I'm not going to cheer for a total pain in the ass."

"Well, at least we know you haven't changed." Melody said.

As soon as classes were over, the girls joined the rest of the cheerleading squad. Everyone was surprised and glad to see Elena arrive.

"Oh, my God! You're here!" Bonnie said.

"Yep. I can't be sad girl forever. The only way to get things back to the way they were are to do things that were." Elena told her. "Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight."

"I am?"

"Mm-hmm. You, me, Margret and Stefan." Elena explained. "You have to give him a chance."

"Tonight's no good." Bonnie told her. "Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times."

"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett. You're going to be there."

"Come on, Bonnie." Margret said. "I don't know much about him, either, but I'm willing to give him a chance."

"What are you afraid of?" Melody added. "It's not like he's Spiderman or something."

"Fine. I'll go." Bonnie said. "You've all talked me into it."

"Good." Elena said.

On the football field, Alex noticed Tanner and Stefan talking. It looked like he convinced him to at least give it a try. "First my girlfriend, now the team?" Matt asked.

"Dude, this is an opportunity. Football's a contact sport. Sometimes people get hurt." Tyler pointed out.

"True, but not everyone's into football." Alex said.

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because my parents say it'll look good on my college applications." Alex explained.

"Seriously, where is Caroline?" Bonnie asked the others.

"I don't know. It's not like her. Try her again." Elena told her.

"It's weird that the captain of the cheerleading squad is running late." Amy said. "And I've never known my cousin to miss practice." Just then, a car pulled up and she came out. There was some other guy with her.

"Whoa. Who is that guy?" Melody asked.

"Oh, my God. That must be the mystery guy from the Grill." Bonnie said.

"He's really hot." Amy said.

"He's taken, Amy." Margret pointed out.

"Please, like I'd stab my own family in the back?" Amy pointed out.

"That's not a mystery guy." Elena explained. "That's Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore, as in Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"I didn't know he had a brother." Amy said.

"She didn't find out until the other day." Margret told her.

"Sorry I'm late, girls. I, uh, was busy." Caroline told them. "All right, let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say?" The girls started practicing the routine. Margret noticed her sister seemed a half step behind. Caroline must've noticed too.

"Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today? Ok?" Caroline asked. "Keep going! Ok. Do it again from the top." Elena walked away from the group.

"Hey, is she okay?" Amy asked as they continued to practice.

"I don't know." Margret told her.

"She was kind of rude to her." Melody said

"Well, you know what a perfectionist Care is." Amy pointed out.

"True, though I've never seen her so down during practice before." Margret said. "Something is up."

The guys ran through a few football drills on the field. "I hate to say it, but he's got skills." Matt admitted.

"I think he needs a buddy pass." Tyler told him.

"Really? You don't get to walk on the field and act like you own the place after 5 minutes."

"Just hang one up there and I'll take care of the rest." Tyler said.

"I think we could use the help. We got our butts kicked last year, remember?" Alex pointed out.

"Do it again." Tanner told them. They ran through it again.

"Oh, God! Look out!" Alex warned. Too late, though. The guys walked off the field.

"Hey. That was my bad." Matt said as they left.

"It's all right." Stefan told him. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem." Alex said. "That's what teammates do. Look out for each other."

At home, Margret sat in the living room. "They'll be here soon." Elena told her.

"What's up with Bonnie lately?" Margret asked.

"She doesn't seem to like Stefan for some reason." Elena admitted. "But I'm hoping that this will change her mind."

"Well, no one really knows much about him." Margret said. "I can kinda see where she's coming from, but he seems nice."

A few minutes later, the group was sitting around the living room. "Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked him.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right."

"Bonnie, you should have seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him, and..."

"Yeah, I heard."

"I was there, too." Margret told them. "I thought it was amazing how you did that. No wonder my sister has a crush on you."

"Margie!" Elena felt herself blushing. Stefan ran his fingers through his hair. Bonnie glanced at her.

Finally, she spoke up. "Well, this is awkward."

"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family?"

"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad." Bonnie explained.

"No, about the witches. Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool." Elena told Stefan.

"Here we go." Margret said.

"Cool isn't the word I'd use." Bonnie said.

"Well, it's certainly interesting." Stefan told her. "I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came by way of Salem." Bonnie explained.

"Really? Salem witches? I would say that's pretty cool."

"Really? Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity." Stefan told her.

"Yeah, they are."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Margret added.

"This coming from the one who's into New Age?" Elena asked. She was smiling. Margret lightly shoved Elena, who returned the gesture. Then the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be." She opened the door to find Caroline and Damon.

"Surprise!" Margret stifled a groan when she heard Caroline's voice. "Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert." The four of the teens inside gave her room to come in.

"Hope you don't mind."

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked. He seemed really tense.

"Waiting for Elena to invite me in." Damon told him.

"Oh, yeah, you can..." Elena began.

"No, no, no. He can't, uh... he can't stay." Stefan interrupted. Margret got the feeling he was hiding something.

"Get in here." Caroline said.

"We're just... finishing up."

"It's fine. Just come on in." Elena finally said. Once that was settled, the four-now six-people in the house returned to the living room.

"You have a beautiful home, Elena."

"Thank you."

"I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be ceiling." Caroline said. "But good for you. Go for it."

"That's what I always tell him. You have to engage." Damon added. "You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

"By the way, could you please tell him to leave my twin brother alone?" Margret asked Stefan. "They don't exactly get along well and I'm worried he'll get hurt."

"I'll do my best, though I doubt he'll listen."

"Elena wasn't so lucky today." Caroline continued. "It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"Hey, I know the routines and I didn't go, either." Margret pointed out.

"Well, I'm sure Amy helped you." Caroline pointed out.

"I'll work with her." Bonnie said. "She'll get it."

"I guess we can put her in the back." Caroline suggested. Margret ignored her rude comments and focused on her breathing.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon said.

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died." Caroline announced as if it were the most casual thing in the world. "Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun. And I say that with complete sensitivity."

"Yeah, I'm sure of that." Margret said. Everyone looked at her. "They were my parents, too, you know, Care."

"I didn't mean…" Caroline began.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both your parents." Damon said. "In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die." There was something about the way he said it that gave Margret the creeps.

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon." Stefan said.

"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up." The girls looked at each other. The evening had just gotten more awkward.

A few minutes later, the group had split up and Margret was with Bonnie. "Hey, you know Caroline didn't mean that, right?" Bonnie asked.

"Of course I know that." Margret said. "She just has the habit of saying the stupidest thing at the worst time."

"And yet you still hang out with her equally annoying cousin."

"Because as annoying as she is, she at least gives me some space." Margret pointed out. "At least she gets how rough its been on us."

"It's really effected you're sister hard. She thinks we don't see how it's hurt her, but we do." Bonnie explained.

"I got into cheerleading because of her. She was the one who pushed me to audition." Margret told her.

"At least you've got all of us even if she decides to drop it." Bonnie told her.

"You know, you're not the only one who notices things, Bonnie." Margret explained. "You don't need to feel so shy about being descended from a line of witches."

"I thought you didn't believe that stuff."

"I don't, but I wouldn't judge you even if you did."

"I should see if Elena needs help." Bonnie said. "I'll see you at school."

"Hang on, I made a couple of these last night." Margret handed her a charm bracelet. Bonnie looked at it. The stones were a mix of purple, aquamarine, and red.

"What's this clear one in the center?"

"I don't know the name of it exactly, but it's supposed to pass on properties to the other crystals." Margret explained.

"You know, I'm starting to think you know more about this than me." Bonnie told her, smiling.

The next day, the group met up at lunch. "Hey." Amy said.

"What are you so down about?"

"You're sister quit the team." Amy told her.

"It's fine, Amy." Melody said. "Besides, your cousin was kinda mean yesterday."

"I told you, she's a perfectionist." Amy pointed out.

"At least she's not coach of the football team." Alex said. "She'd be hard to please."

"Speaking of which, how's the new guy?" Rob asked.

"He actually let him on the team if you can believe it." Alex told him.

"That's amazing." Amy said. "It must've taken magic or something to convince Tanner."

"That or just luck." Melody told her.

"Well, I appreciate the fact he's on our team." Alex said. "We could use his help."

"Not to mention the fact that we'll be out there cheering for both of you." Margret pointed out. "I saw you during practice the other day. You were good."

"You think so?" Margret nodded.

"Well, we've all got practice this afternoon." Rob pointed out. "I'll see you around."

When Margret got home, she noticed her bracelet on her drawer. The weird thing was she didn't remember leaving it there. For some reason, she couldn't open the locket charm she added to it. Then she found a note. It read:

Always wear this bracelet no matter what happens.

There was no name on it, but she placed the bracelet on her wrist anyway.

The night of the football game, everyone was getting ready. The girls were already in uniform. "Wow, I forgot how amazing you looked in that." Margret told Melody. It was true she looked like a model in the cheerleading uniform.

"Thanks, but really, red is so not my color." Melody pointed out.

Suddenly, she noticed a group gathering in the distance. "Oh, my God!" Margret ran over as fast as she could. Just as she feared, Tyler and Jeremy were at it again. Further in, she noticed Alex and Rob trying to break up the fight. She heard Vicki yelling at Tyler to stop, but he didn't hear her.

Knowing how stupid it was, Margret threw herself between them. "Hey, leave my brother alone!"

"Margret!" She kicked Tyler in the groin. He fell to his knees.

"Okay, enough." Margret was pulled out by Rob and Melody.

"Are you insane? You could've been hurt."

"He could've killed Jeremy." Margret pointed out. She looked to find the others. Matt pulled Tyler aside and Elena was with Jeremy. She found Alex near Stefan, wondering how she didn't notice him there before. He was holding his hand.

"Are you okay?" Margret asked Alex.

"Yeah. I'm fine, they didn't get to me." Alex told her.

"Hey, are you two going to be okay?" They both turned to Stefan.

"Yeah. Thanks for trying to help." Margret told him.

"It was nothing, really."

"Oh, god. Your hand." Elena came over to look at it.

"It's fine." Elena looked at it and was surprised.

"But, the glass cut your hand…"

"I'm okay." Margret looked to her sister and noticed something was off. "I'll see you after the game."

"I'm going to make sure he's okay." Alex told them. "Break a leg out there." He told Margret.

"What were you thinking?" Amy asked once Margret and Melody returned to the rest of the group. "If you had gotten hurt, my cousin would probably have kicked you off the team."

"He's my brother. I wasn't just going to stand there and let Tyler kill him." Margret told her. "And maybe this is a foreign concept to you, but I actually care about my family."

"Hey, you three with us or not?" Caroline called to them.

"You two can work this out later." Melody said. "Right now, we've got a pyramid to do." Amy and Margret didn't say a word on the way there. Caroline was struggling to help a girl with her positioning.

"Can someone please help Tiki?" She asked.

"I'll do it. Believe it or not, I like helping my team members when they're down." Amy said. Margret looked away from her. She and Caroline really were a lot alike.

"Can you believe her?" Margret asked as Melody came over.

"Just ignore it, Margie. By tomorrow, she'll probably be back to her old self." Melody told her. "Hey, isn't that your sister?" Margret turned to see Elena talking with Bonnie. "I thought she quit."

"She did quit." She and Melody looked at each other.

"Feel like eavesdropping?"

"Anything to get away from Amy right now." Margret told her. The two of them managed to blend in with a group of cheerleaders, but were still in hearing distance. "No, Bonnie, seriously. What was it?" Elena asked. "Did you see something, Or..."

"It wasn't clear like a picture. Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers I told you about... 8, 14, 22."

"Yeah?"

"When I touched Stefan, it was a feeling. And it vibrated through me, and it was cold, and it..." Bonnie cut off.

"And what?"

"It was death. It's what I imagine death to be like." Bonnie said. The girls looked at each other.

"What is she talking about?" Melody asked.

"It's nothing." Margret told her. Only she and Elena knew about Bonnie's family because she was there when she first started talking about having visions, which she still didn't entirely believe.

Elsewhere, Alex was with Matt and Stefan. "You gonna be able to play?" Matt asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good."

"Are you sure? That looked pretty bad." Alex pointed out.

"It'll be fine." Stefan told him.

"Uh, what you did back there... you had Jeremy's back."

"Ah, he's a messed-up kid. Somebody's gotta look out for him."

"Yeah, for Margie's sake, I hope he gets over it soon." Alex torld him. "She'd never tell her family, but it kills her to see him that way."

"This week at practice I was a dick." Matt admitted

"You had your reasons." Stefan pointed out.

"No excuse. Good luck tonight. We're lucky to have you." He and Alex left for the field.

Sometime later, the group had separated. "Okay, we're leaving." Amy said. "There was an animal attack nearby. It got one of the teachers."

"What?" Melody and Margret asked at the same time.

"We better go." Margret said. "Knowing my sister, she'll probably panic unless I'm safe at home."

"See you tomorrow." Melody called after her. Margret ran off as fast as she could. She had no idea what was going on in town, but she didn't like it.


	4. Family Ties

The next morning, Margret and Elena went downstairs to find Jenna yelling at the TV. They looked to each other for a second. "Who are you talking to?" Elena asked.

"Him. The news guy, also known as Logan "Scum" Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?" Jenna asked them.

"Oh, no way. You and him? He's cute."

"He is not cute. There's nothing cute about him."

"I have to agree with you on that." Margret said. "No one likes a guy with a big personality like that."

"What are you doing with that?" Jenna asked noticing the box Elena had.

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood she would loan it to the founder's council for their heritage display."

"That's right." Margret said. "I can't believe I forgot. I was supposed to help the girls set up today."

"I'm sure they'll understand." Jenna said. "With all that's been happening lately, and all…" The doorbell rang. Elena left to answer it.

"I'll go call Melody and let her know I'll be late." Margret told her. She ran upstairs.

Outside, Amy was with Caroline and Bonnie. "You're taking Damon to the founder's party? What about me?" Bonnie asked her.

"Go with Elena." Caroline told her.

"She's asking Stefan." She pointed out.

"Ok, go by yourself."

"Gee, thanks." Amy nearly laughed at the statement. "What about your mom? Is she ok with you bringing Damon?"

"Please, like Aunt Elizabeth would ever approve." Amy pointed out.

"Why should I care?" Caroline asked.

"He's way older than you. It could be dangerous." Bonnie pointed out.

"Is that an official witch twitter tweet?" Caroline asked.

"No more witch jokes, ok? At whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked."

"What's she talking about?" Amy asked.

"She thinks she had a vision of the spot Tanner was killed." Caroline told her. She turned back to Bonnie. "And Damon's not dangerous. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major, deep-Rooted drama."

"Like what?" They both asked at the same time.

"I'm not really supposed to say anything." Caroline said.

"Caroline Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life?" Bonnie asked.

"Ok. But you can't tell Elena."

"No." Caroline walked away from them.

"Don't feel bad. She's been like this ever since she started hanging around him." Amy told Bonnie.

"She's your family, Amy. Are you even concerned about her?" Bonnie asked.

"Of course I'm worried, but what am I supposed to do? No one ever listens to what I have to say." Amy pointed out. She walked away. "I gotta go. Margret called to apologize for not helping with the set-up. I want to make sure she's doing okay. I mean, considering what's happened and all."

"I'll be going later, too." Bonnie told her. "To help Elena with her outfit."

At Elena's house, Tyler came over. "I'm here for my mom. I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff."

"Right here. Please be careful." Elena told him.

"Yeah, careful with it, dick." Margret put her hand to her face.

"Not again."

"Hey! Not now, ok, guys? Please?"

"I'm fine. He's just being a punk." Tyler said.

"My brother's not a punk, but I'm starting to think you are." Margret told him.

"Look about the other night, I just lost it."

"You tried to kill my brother, Ty. You can't just apologize and think everything's going to be okay because of that." Margret said.

"Margie?" She heard a voice call from upstairs.

"Be right there, Mel!" Margret yelled. She turned to Tyler. "Don't talk to me until you've really thought about it." She headed upstairs.

"Look, Tyler, maybe you should go. Tell your mom that I'll see her tonight." Elena said, seeing her sister rush up the stairs.

"It's so stupid." Margret said. "All of this over a drug addict who clearly needs help."

"Not to mention she's the sister of your sister's ex." Amy added.

"How messed up is that?"

"Very. Almost as messed up as my cousin. She's been acting weird since Damon showed up." Amy said. "Anyway, has Alex asked you out?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Well, I figured since the other girls had dates, he may have invited you." Amy said.

"I don't know, Amy. Alex is my friend, but he probably wouldn't be interested in this." Margret said. "The only reason I'm going in the first place is to see the display. She thought it'd be good if I learned about her side of the family."

"Well, Melody's going. For some reason, she wouldn't tell me." Amy said. "And I'm going to keep an eye on Care. Besides, I heard you and Alex in the hall the other day, making plans to go together?"

"He's just helping me get through this, Amy." Margret said. "There's nothing between us."

"Okay, I get it. Just friends." Amy said. "It is a formal event though."

"It's covered already." Margret told her. "I'm going to help my sister out, though. She always has a hard time deciding what to wear to these things. You can come too. You are the fashion expert."

The girls entered the room as Bonnie was helping her out. "Can we mix them?" Elena asked her.

"Look at you, getting all pretty for your date."

"Tonight's going to be a good night. But don't let that stop you from telling me whatever it is you wanted to tell me as soon as you walked in the door." Elena told her.

"What if I tell you in the morning? I don't want to ruin the night." Bonnie said.

"It's not a good idea to keep secrets from her." Margret reminded her.

"Bonnie, out with it." Elena said.

"Ok, but it has to go in the vault, because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed." Bonnie told them.

"No problem. He's all she thinks about these days." Amy pointed out.

" Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story." Bonnie said. "Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine?"

"I know that they both dated her and that's why they have issues." Elena said.

"Whoa, they were in love with the same girl?" Amy asked.

"That must've difficult position for them to be in." Margret added.

"Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon." Bonnie told them. "And that drove Stefan mad, he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon."

"That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's." Elena pointed out.

"I just wanted you to know."

"That doesn't sound like Stefan at all." Amy said. "And I don't trust a word Damon says."

"Neither do I. It was almost like he was trying to cause a rift between him and Elena the other night." Margret told her.

"His past relationships are none of my business." Elena told Bonnie.

"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar. That is your business."

"Stefan is none of those things." Elena said. Luckily, they were saved by the phone ringing. "Hello? Hi, Mrs. Lockwood." The girls noticed her expression changed. "What do you mean? It is? Are you sure? 'Cause I saw it. Let me check. I will find it and bring it. Ok. Bye."

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked. Elena turned to Margret.

"The watch is missing." Elena told her.

"Need back-up?" Margret asked. The two went into Jeremy's room.

"What now?" He asked.

"The pocket watch. Where is it?" Margret asked him.

"What watch?"

"The one you stole from mom's box." Elena explained. "Look, Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy. And she can't find it, and she thinks she's the one who lost it."

"Well, she is kinda forgetful sometimes." Margret said. Elena looked at her. Margret shrugged.

"Maybe she did. Maybe Tyler took it." Jeremy said.

"Don't even play that card. Jeremy, you took it." Elena said. "If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay? Is that how you pay for your pot?"

"Screw you. I would never sell this, ok?" He told them.

"Then why did you take it?" Margret asked him.

"Because it's supposed to be mine. Dad said it goes to the firstborn son. His father gave it to him."

"And he was going to give it to you." Elena said, understanding.

"Yeah."

"Look, Jeremy, it's still yours, ok? Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood. What do you want me to do?" Elena asked.

"Just take it and get out ." He told her. Elena walked out of the room.

"You know, it's not right to worry her about that." Margret said. "And to be honest, I'm kind of worried about you. I know about the drugs, Jer. I feel like I'm losing you sometimes."

"Look, you aren't going to lost me, Margie." Jeremy told her. "I'm just tired of having to deal with the pain all the time. Not all of us can take on crafts or fashion like you can."

"I remember when you used to draw." She said. "It was like you'd get lost for hours sketching, like how Elena writes in her diary."

"I'm just not up to it anymore. Ever since they died, I haven't been able to think of anything to draw."

"One day, it'll come back to you." Margret said. She got up and left the room. "Well, I have to go. Amy's helping me with my outfit for tonight."

That night, she showed up at the party wearing a purple and white dress. Alex walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey. You really can pull that off." Margret said.

"It was hard to find the right size." Alex admitted. Amy was there, wearing a bright orange dress.

"Hey."

"I thought you weren't coming." Margret said.

"I'm keeping an eye on Caroline. Something isn't right about her." Amy explained.

"Let's go inside." Alex said. "There's no point standing around out here."

They went into the building and ran into Elena and Stefan. "Sorry about that." Margret said when she bumped into her.

"It's okay." Elena said. They looked at the display.

"Who knew our family had so much history?" Margret asked, glancing at an old white gown that was on display.

"It was cool of your mom to lend this stuff to them." Alex said. "How is she, by the way?"

"I might be into new age, but I'm not clairvoyant, Alex." Margret told him. They rejoined the others in the lounge.

"Look, it's the original guest registry." Elena pointed it out to them. "Look at all these familiar names- Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood." She frowned as she came across a familiar one. "Is that Damon Salvatore? And, look, Stefan Salvatore."

"The original Salvatore brothers. Our ancestors. Tragic story, actually." Margret jumped. She had no idea when Damon and Caroline had gotten there.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." Stefan told him.

"It's not boring, Stefan. I'd love to hear more about your family." Elena said.

"Well, I'm bored." Caroline said. "And Damon won't dance with me. Could I just borrow your date?" She asked Elena.

"I don't really dance."

"Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all." Damon told them.

"I have a hard time believing that." Margret said.

"You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?" Caroline asked.

"It's up to Stefan." Elena pointed out. Reluctantly, Stefan took Caroline out to the dance floor. Margret heard a familiar tune playing.

"Alex, mind coming outside with me?" Margret asked.

"I guess." Alex said. The two of them walked out to where everyone was dancing. "So, what are we doing out here?"

"I only know one person who can play that song." Margret told him. She walked over to where the DJ was sitting. "Oh, my god! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Melody told her. "Mrs. Lockwood asked me a few days ago. I see you brought Alex with you."

"We are not on a date." Margret said. "Besides, I'm kinda helping Amy with her problem. I trust Care's date as much as her."

"Okay, no need to get defensive." Melody said. Margret walked away from her.

"Hey, you okay?" Alex asked.

"Fine."

"Wanna dance?" Margret stared at him in shock. "Well, it looks like everyone else is having fun, so I figured…"

"Okay." Margret allowed Alex to lead her out onto the floor. Luckily, a fast song was playing. The two danced beside each other. When the song ended, they both looked at each other. "Wow. Who knew you had it in you?"

"You've got some cool moves yourself." Alex pointed out.

"Former dancer, remember?" Margret reminded him. "Though it's nice to know I've still got it."

"You should totally audition for that dance competition." Caroline said, as she and Stefan joined them.

"I'm good, but I'm not that good, Caroline." Margret pointed out.

"It looked like you were having a good time out there." Caroline told her.

"For the millionth time, we are NOT on a date!" Margret nearly yelled.

"I never said that you were."

"That's what everyone's thinking, though." Margret said. Stefan turned to Alex as the girls continued talking.

"Hey, you were really good out there."

"Thanks, man." Alex said.

"It's okay if you like Margret, you know." Stefan told him.

"It's not that. She's my friend." Alex explained. "Ever since we started high school, we promised to have each other's back. After the accident, though, we decided to give her some space until she was feeling better."

"She's lucky to have a friend like you."

"I know. She'll always be my friend no matter what happens."

"Hey." Amy came over to the group. "I had no idea Melody was going to be here."

"Neither did I." Margret said. "She really surprised us."

"She's good at keeping things a secret." Amy pointed out. "Not to mention, she's an awesome DJ." She turned to her cousin. "So, where's your date?"

"He's around somewhere." Caroline said.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to see if she needs help." Amy walked away from them.

A few minutes later, Elena and Damon appeared. "What'd we miss?" He asked.

"We were just chatting." Caroline told him. Amy was nearby, listening to them.

"Drink, Damon?" Stefan offered.

"No, thanks. I'll pass." Margret noticed something off about him.

"Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" Elena asked.

"Absolutely." The group watched as the two headed to the dance floor. Margret saw how different Elena looked around him. She seemed happier.

"They look so cute together." Caroline said.

"Don't talk, please." Damon told her.

"I'm happy for her." Margret said. "I haven't seen her this happy since…" She broke off. Alex put his arm around her.

"I think it's the same with him." Alex added.

"Alex, have you heard from Rob?" Amy asked him.

"No, I only know he couldn't make it tonight."

"Well, I'm out of here." Margret said. She turned to leave.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked.

"Look, maybe I'm getting the wrong impression, but you sort of creep me out." Margret told him. "I don't know what's going on with you and your brother, but keep my sister and our friends out of it." She walked away from him. Alex and Amy followed her.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"No, but I feel better saying it." She told him. "Ever since I met him, I've had a bad feeling about him."

"I know what you mean. From what I've seen, Stef isn't exactly a big fan of his brother, either."

"I can't see how they're related." Margret said. "The only thing they have in common is that they hate each other."

"I know." Amy ran over to them.

"Guys, it's worse than I thought."

"What's up?"

"I was just in the bathroom with the girls. There are bruises all over Caroline's neck." Amy told them. Margret gasped. She hadn't thought it was that bad.

"Why didn't she tell someone?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. But she'd been acting weird since they met and now…" Amy took a deep breath to calm herself. "Now, it all makes sense."

"If your cousin still has any sense left, she'll leave him." Margret said. Amy looked at her.

"Can we just try to find her?" Amy asked. "She wandered off somewhere." The girls ran off, looking for Caroline everywhere.

It took a long time, before they found her. Elena arrived at the same time they did. "Caroline? There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Are you ok?" She asked her.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She told them.

"I'm glad you're okay." Amy said.

"We've all been really worried." Margret added.

"Caroline, what happened?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine." She shivered.

"You're shaking." Elena pointed out.

"She's probably just scared." Margret told her. "These things tend to happen in those kinds of relationships."

"I'm fine!"

"Caroline, come here." Elena embraced the shaking girl on the ground. It wasn't long before Amy joined her.

"Come on, we should get you home." Amy said. "It's been a rough night."


	5. You're Undead to Me

A few days later, Margret was downstairs with Jenna. "I'm just glad Amy and Care are finally back to acting like friends again." She told her.

"That's the thing about family, they can fight as much as they want, but at the end of the day, they'd never let anything hurt someone they cared about." Jenna told her.

"I know." Margret said. "Have you been reading my books again?"

"No." Jenna took a sip of her coffee. Just then, Elena came into the room.

"Jenna! Are you aware of what's going on upstairs?" Elena asked.

"Uh-huh."

"And you have no objection?"

"He could be craftier about it, at least make an effort to sneak." Jenna told her.

"Wait, you know Vicki's upstairs?" Margret asked.

"How did you know…" Elena began.

"Hello, we're twins. He can't hide anything from me, not to mention I saw her go in his room."

"Oh, and just so you know, I won't be home for dinner." Jenna said to them.

"Oh, so you're actually going to do it. You're gonna go out with Logan." Elena said.

"Did I miss something?"

"I'm going to show up and torture him, yes. And have you heard from Stefan?" Jenna asked.

"Not since that very vague message three days ago. "Hi, um, Elena, I, um, have something I have to do. I'll, uh, explain in a few days.""

"Maybe he's making sure his brother is locked away somewhere." Margret said. She was still angry at Damon for what he did to Caroline.

"Haven't you called him?" Jenna asked.

"Nope. Not going to, either." Elena said.

"The key to any relationship is communication, Elena." Margret pointed out.

"I know, but he's been really off lately." Elena explained.

"And you're ok with everything?" Jenna asked. Margret knew what her sister was going to say.

"No, I'm not ok with any of it. But I'm not gonna cry about it, either." She told them. "You know, I was going to write in my diary this morning and then I thought, what am I going to write? Honestly, I'm not gonna be one of those pathetic girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy."

"Okay, then." Jenna said, stunned.

"I'll be fine." Elena told them.

"I have trouble figuring out what to write, too. Especially when I can't sleep." Margret admitted.

"You keep one, too?" Elena asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I mostly write because my friends just don't get it sometimes." Margret explained. "There are some things that are just personal, you know?"

"Yeah." Elena said. "Come on, we'll be late for school."

Up in Caroline's room, Amy was helping her get ready for school. She checked to see if there were any new marks or scratches. "There is nothing wrong with me. I told you a million times, I'm fine."

"You said that after we found you shivering in the cold. What happened?" Amy asked. Bonnie was with them.

"I remember the party. Damon came up behind me, and he was kissing my neck, or biting my neck. I passed out. It's like there's holes in my memory lately." Caroline explained. "It's just weird. Maybe I let him bite me."

"Why would you do that?" Bonnie asked. Amy looked at her, surprised.

"Can we just not talk about it, ok? Don't want to talk about Damon. I don't want to talk about any of it. Just want to go back to normal."

"Hate to say it, but I did warn you he was trouble from the start." Amy pointed out. She noticed Bonnie concentrating on a candle. "What are you doing with that candle?"

"Um... Nothing. What's this?" Bonnie asked, looking at a necklace that she found in Caroline's things.

"Damon gave it to me." Caroline explained. "Or he was going to give it to me. All I know is, it's mine now."

"It's ugly."

"Well, get your hands off it."

"It looks kinda old, doesn't it?" Amy asked.

"I don't think I wanna know." Bonnie said.

"Maybe I'll talk to Margie later. She likes figuring out stuff like this." Amy said.

"Well, if we keep standing here, we're all going to be late." Caroline pointed out.

Melody ran into Margret at school. "So, she was right about him, wasn't she?" Melody asked.

"Yeah. Good thing she's safe now." Margret said. "No one should ever get involved in that kind of relationship."

"I even stayed over at her house all weekend to make sure she'd be okay." Amy told them. "But as far as I'm concerned, she's gone back to her normal self."

Just then, they noticed Caroline passing out flyers for the car wash. They were all surprised. "Can you believe this?" Amy said as Elena and Bonnie walked by.

"Unbelievable. It's like nothing happened." Elena said.

"Lies and denial." Bonnie pointed out.

"And I thought Amy had it bad." Melody said.

"Excuse me?" Amy glared at her.

"Really, you're going to do this here?" Margret asked.

"Hey." Everyone turned around to see Stefan.

"Hey. You know, I gotta go. Be somewhere right now." Bonnie left in a hurry.

"This is awkward." Amy said.

"Yeah, maybe we should just go." Margret said. The girls took off, leaving Elena to deal with him.

"I cannot believe he saw us arguing." Amy said.

"Talk about embarrassment." Melody added.

"Hey, I'm sure he wasn't standing there the whole time." Margret said.

"Could've fooled me." Melody pointed out.

"Wait, isn't Damon his brother?" Amy asked Margret.

"Yeah, why do you…" Margret paused, realizing what she meant. "Amy, no, we are not eavesdropping on them."

"Look, Caroline is my cousin and his brother screwed up big time." Amy pointed out. "I can't just let it go."

"Fine, we're coming." Melody said. The girls went back to where Stefan and Elena were talking. Caroline walked over to them.

"Stefan, where is Damon? He has some serious apologizing to do." She explained.

"Guess she's not as out of her mind as I thought." Amy whispered.

"He's gone, Caroline." Stefan explained.

"When is he coming back?"

"He's not coming back. I'm sorry."

"This is a good thing, Caroline." Elena said.

"I know that." Caroline told her.

"Thank goodness." Amy said. "Though I did warn you he was trouble."

"Yeah, I know." Caroline said. "It's like he had some kind of effect on me. I'm just glad it's over now."

"We're going to be late for class." Melody pointed out.

"Hang on, are any of you coming to the car wash tomorrow?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know, Care. None of us really have the right look for that kind of thing." Margret pointed out.

"Not to mention I don't have a swimsuit." Melody said.

"Well, we could always use some more volunteers anyway." Caroline told them.

After school, Margret called Melody at home. "Can you believe we got roped into doing this?"

"It's Caroline. Of course it doesn't surprise me." Margret pointed out.

"Yeah, and now Amy's willing to follow her blindly."

"That is not true and you know it. The only reason she's going is to make sure she doesn't go running off to find Damon or something." Margret said.

"You're still mad, aren't you?" Melody asked.

"He hurt one of my sister's friends and my friend's cousin. Of course I'm still mad." The call waiting went off. "Hang on, that's probably Amy. Hello?"

"Hey, Care wants us to help out with putting up the rest of the flyers." Amy told her.

"We'll pass them out while everyone gets set up." Margret told her. "Hang on, I'll conference Melody in."

"Hello? Margie, are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. We're dealing with Caroline again."

"Doesn't that girl know when to quit?" Melody asked.

"Apparently not." Amy said.

"So, we'll just have to deal with her when the time comes." Margret said. "I so can't deal with this right now. I'll call guys later." She hung up and sat down, exhausted. A few minutes later, Elena showed up. She looked as frustrated as Margret felt.

"Bad day, huh?" Margret asked.

"Kinda." Elena said. She nearly walked into Jeremy. "Oh, God! Sorry."

"I'm sure she didn't mean that." Margret said.

"You ok?" Jeremy asked.

"Is Vicki in there?" Elena replied.

"Don't answer a question with another question. Maybe." Jeremy told her. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm miserable."

"Well, you should go get something to eat."

"What was that about?" Margret asked as soon as Elena was out of earshot.

"What was what?" Jeremy asked.

"Don't answer my question with another question, twin." Margret said.

"Fine, I was hoping she'd work things out with Stefan, so I invited him over."

"Wow, who knew you could be a romantic?"

"Watch it, sis. I don't need you spreading it around."

"You're secret's safe with me." Margret said, heading up to her room. Just then, her cell phone rang. It was Amy again.

"What now? Is Caroline driving you nuts already?"

"Actually, I just remembered something. What do you know about really old crystals?" Amy asked.

"Well, I know that most of them have protective properties." Margret told her. "How old are we talking?"

"Really old." Amy said. "I found it with Caroline's things."

"Can I see it? It'd give me a better idea of what I'm working with."

"Sorry, Care has it." Amy told her. "Remember the last time I tried to borrow something without her knowing?"

"Good point." Margret said. "Can you describe what it looks like?"

"I can't remember the color. I think it was gold or something. I don't know, sorry." Amy said.

It's okay. We can talk about it another time." Margret told her. "I'll see you later."

The next day, the girls were helping out at the car wash. "I can't believe she talked us into this." Melody said.

"Tell me about it. At least she didn't make us wear those embarrassing lifeguard suits." Amy said.

"Yeah, after it took us an hour to convince her that we don't look good in any kind of swimwear." Margret said.

"All I'm saying is, I'm against using this…" Melody said, indicating to her body. "To help run a school charity."

"Uh, tell me about it." Amy said. "If she weren't such a control freak sometimes…" The girls got to work on one of the cars. They were almost finished when...

"What the hell?" The girls turned around.

"Whoa, what happened over here?" Margret asked, rushing over. One of the girls had gotten soaked.

"I have no idea." The girl said. "One minute, I'm washing a car. The next thing I know, I've been soaked."

"Is there anything we can do?" Margret asked.

"I think there are some towels in the supply closet." Amy said. The girls headed inside. Melody stayed behind to keep her company.

"Why are you so mean to others?" Melody asked.

"I don't know. Guess I'm just tired of being put down by everyone." The girl said.

"You know, I could help you with some of the cheerleading routines if you want." Melody offered.

"It would be nice to have help."

"Here." Margret handed her a towel.

"I wonder what happened." Amy whispered to Melody.

"Same here."

Amy headed over to the counter to find Elena by herself. "Hey, where's Caroline?"

"I don't know. She went to go get towels and left me here." Elena told her.

"Great, I'll bet she's taken off again." Amy said. She went back over to Margret. "Guys, I'm going to see if I can find Caroline. It's not like her to ditch a charity drive she set up."

"Wait, we're coming too." Melody said, dragging Margret with her. "Anything to get out of this place."

The girls left the car wash and were headed over to Caroline's. "So, what's up with your sister and the new guy?" Melody asked.

"I don't know. He's been acting kinda distant lately." Margret said. "She thinks something's up, but can't figure out what it is."

"Do you feel the same way?" Amy asked.

"Not really." Margret admitted. "I believe in respecting other people's business unless it's a real emergency. Whatever's been up with him, it's between him and his brother."

"Wow." Amy said. "Sometimes I wish I thought like that."

"Well, if everyone thought the same, that would be boring." Melody pointed out.

"Tell me about it." Amy said. The girls laughed.

Once they got to Caroline's house, they found no sign of her. "Who's there?" A voice called. A woman appeared in the living room. "Amy, I didn't know you were visiting."

"Hi, Aunt Elizabeth." Amy said.

"Have you seen Caroline?" Melody asked.

"As far as I know, she's at the school car wash." Caroline's mom told them. The girls turned to each other.

"Well, we better go." Margret told them. "Thanks, Sheriff Forbes. And sorry about nearly breaking in."

"It's fine, Margret." The girls went outside.

"Try calling her again, Amy." Melody suggested. Amy called Caroline's number.

"Hello?"

"Caroline, where did you go?"

"I went out for a walk, that's all." Caroline said. "I'm on my way home now. It's been a rough day." Amy turned to the others.

"She's okay." She told them before responding to Caroline. "I'll see you at school Monday."

"Don't remind me." Caroline said. "Bye."

That evening, Margret was writing in her journal when Elena came in. "Hey."

"Hey." Margret said. "What's up? You look tired."

"I've been trying to figure something out. I kind of need your help." Elena told her. "Do you know anything about a stone called lapis lazuli?"

"I know it's one of the healing crystals, but I don't think that's what you're looking for." Margret said.

"Are there any legends or something tied to it?"

"A lot of gemstones have legends tied to them." Margret pointed out. "But there are a few things I've picked up on about this one. Supposedly, they're a symbol of friendship and truth. It's also said to bring wisdom and clear thoughts."

"Anything else?"

"Well, according to really old sources, people used to believe that it had magical properties." Margret explained. "Why do you want to know all this?"

"No reason. It's just…I've been thinking about supernatural legends lately." Elena told her.

"You don't believe in that stuff." Margret pointed out.

"Well, I think I'm beginning to. I have to go. I'll see you in the morning." Elena left the room.

Margret turned back to her diary, wondering what was up with her sister these days.


	6. Lost Girls

Margret was asleep, when she heard Elena screaming. She woke up and looked at her clock. It was the middle of the night. By the time she got to her room, she was standing there. She looked shaken, but otherwise fine. "Did you have a bad dream?" Elena jumped and turned around. When she realized it was Margret, she relaxed.

"Yeah, sort of." Elena said.

"Are you okay? You seem a little on edge."

"I'm fine, I think." Elena told her. "It's just, that dream was so real."

"Yeah, some of them are like that." Margret said. She took off the pink bracelet that she wore on her other wrist…the one opposite of the one where she wore the bracelet her mysterious sender gave her. "Here, wear this."

"What is it?"

"It prevents people from having nightmares." Margret told her. "This way, you can rest without waking up the rest of us."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I've had them before, too. It's why I always wear one when I go to bed." Margret said.

"Thank you." Elena said, even though she knew that her bracelet wouldn't really do her any good at the moment. "Good night."

"Good night, Elena." Margret headed back to her own room. Before she left, Elena noticed the other bracelet she was wearing. She decided she'd ask about it tomorrow.

The next day, Margret was downstairs with Jeremy. Elena came down and was getting her jacket. "Hey, guys. I'm going to take off."

"See you later." Jeremy said. Margret slapped him. "Ow! What?"

"Are you high again?" Margret asked.

"No." Jeremy protested.

"I'll look." Elena looked hard at her brother. "No, he's fine. He's just not a morning person."

"Clearly." Margret said.

"By the way, where did you get that?" Elena asked.

"I made this one after the accident." Margret told her. "But, one day when I got home, it was laying out on my table. There was a note that said not to take it off."

"Well, looks like someone has a secret admirer."

"Shut up!" Margret yelled.

"There was no name?" Elena asked.

"No." Margret said. "But I've never taken it off. I feel that whoever did it wanted me to wear it for protection. Plus, the locket was sealed closed."

"Aren't you going to be late?" Jeremy interrupted.

"He's right." Elena realized. "I better hurry if I'm going to meet Stefan."

"Wait, you two are back together?" Margret asked.

"Not exactly. Whatever's been up with him, he's ready to talk about." Elena told her. "I'm willing to listen to him." She walked out the door.

A few hours later, the doorbell rang. "Hey, I heard about what happened at the car wash." Alex told her. "Was she really that bad?" Margret let him inside.

"No, not really. But she left in the middle of the event. We tried looking for her. It turned out she was perfectly safe." Margret said. "I feel embarrassed that we spent all that time looking for nothing."

"You were concerned about her. And after what happened at the party, I don't blame you for wanting to make sure she was okay. That guy seems like a jerk."

Then, the doorbell rang again.

"Rob, what are you doing here?" Margret asked.

"Seeing if I can help a friend." Rob told her. He came inside. The two of them sat down in the living room. "Vicki didn't come back last night."

"Maybe she stayed over at Tyler's." Margret suggested. "I know she didn't come here. She and Jer got into a fight yesterday."

"It's weird that she's kinda stringing those two along." Alex said.

"She dumped Ty at the beginning of the year though." Rob pointed out.

"I'm just trying to think." Margret said. "I don't know where else she'd be unless she was out getting high somewhere."

"Who knows? Maybe he finally decided to respect her." Alex suggested.

"I doubt it." Rob said. "Tyler's a player. He doesn't respect anyone except his teammates."

"It would explain why he nearly killed Jeremy the night of the first game." Margret said.

"Are you still mad about that?"

"If anyone threatens the people that I care about, you can expect me to mad for a long time." She told them.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Rob said.

"The longest you've ever stayed mad was two months." Alex pointed out.

"So what?"

"I'm just saying, it's not like you to be so angry at others."

"Please, I will never forgive that creep for what he did to Caroline." Margret told him.

"Trust me, if it was Melody, I'd feel the same way." Rob said. "It's a good thing she has you for a friend."

"It's a good thing she's got a protective older brother." She said to him.

"I'm going to see how your twin's doing." Alex told her.

"Wait, please don't tell him about Vicki." Rob said. "The last thing we need to do is have him wondering where she is."

"A bit late for that, Rob." Margret told him. "Look who's coming toward the house." They followed her gaze out the window.

"Looks like she's in bad shape." Alex said. The doorbell rang. Jeremy answered.

"Hey. The sun is killing me. My eyes are on fire." She told him.

"Where have you been?" Jeremy asked. Margret went to his side to see if she could help.

"It's good. everything's good."

"Are you okay?" Margret asked. "You seem a little…disoriented." Jeremy looked at her.

"You're high? Vicki, it's the middle of the day."

"Could you just not talk so loud? My head, it hurts. I need quiet." Vicki told them. They looked at each other.

"Just sit down. We'll call Matt, okay?" Margret told her. Carefully, they helped her sit down. Alex and Rob were still in the living room. "It's bad, guys. We're going to need to call Matt so he knows what's going on."

"I'll call him." Rob told them.

Meanwhile, Elena was out in the woods with Stefan. She was finding out more about what's been going on lately and the guys' history with Katherine.

"The mind control... You said Katherine used. Do you ever do that to me?" Elena asked.

"No. That necklace, it contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled." He explained. "I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence. But I also wanted to... Protect you from me."

"Are you also trying to protect Margret?" Elena asked him. "She told me about the bracelet. She said she found it with a note saying not to take it off."

"I don't think Damon would go after her, but I didn't want to take any chances." Stefan told her. "Especially since the Caroline incident." Elena nodded, understanding.

"Guess if I were in your position, I'd have done the same thing." She admitted.

"Anyone should be free to make their own choices." He told her.

Back at Elena's house, everyone else was dealing with Vicki. "Where is she?" Matt asked.

"Come this way." Jeremy and Rob led him upstairs.

"Thanks for the call." Matt told Rob.

"No problem."

"What's she on?" Matt asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, we can rule out sleeping pills." Alex said. Margret hit him in the arm. "What?"

"Not helping."

"Hey, Vic. How you doin'?" Matt asked.

"Not good, Mattie. I hurt."

"Ok, where's it hurt?"

"My jaw hurts."

"Maybe you shouldn't speak for a while." Margret suggested. "Might help." Everyone looked at her. "What? It helped me when my back teeth grew in."

"Too much info." Alex said. He nearly stumbled out of the room.

"Ok, well—"

"No. Just leave me alone." Vicki told them.

"Come on, Vic. Don't be like that." Matt said. Let's get you home.

"Maybe she's got the flu." Rob told him. "That, or she's hallucinating."

"Just turn it off!"

"Turn what off?" Jeremy asked.

"The talking, the chatter, just turn it off." Everyone stayed quiet for a moment. Then, Jeremy unmuted the TV.

"3 bodies were found dead in what is believed to be a drug deal gone awry. The bodies have yet to be identified. They were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery." Margret gasped. She couldn't believe what was going on in town lately.

"That's where we were last night." Jeremy told them.

"Do me a favor and don't go there at night again." Margret told him.

"What happened, Vic?" Matt asked.

"They're asking anyone with information..." The announcer continued.

"I'm calling the cops." Matt said.

"No. Don't." Vicki protested.

"Vicki, this is serious." Rob pointed out. "Someone murdered those other kids."

"What happened after I left last night, Vick?" Jeremy asked.

"Dude, are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Jeremy told them.

"In any case, Rob's right. Sooner or later, we have to call the police." Alex pointed out. Just then, Elena and Stefan entered the room.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"She's really messed up." Matt explained.

"Elena, back up. Vicki, look at me." Stefan told her. "Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine." He turned to everyone else in the room. "Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be ok. Come on." It took everyone's help, but all five of them managed to help get Vicki upstairs to Jeremy's room.

"I'm going to make some herbal tea. It might help." Margret told the guys. She left the room.

"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble." Vicki said.

"Aw, you just-you need to sleep it off, ok?" Jeremy told her.

"You'll feel fine when you wake up." Rob added.

"No." Vicki seemed as though she were remembering something. Suddenly, she took off and ran out the door. The guys ran downstairs.

"Vic!" Matt called after her.

"She was fine, and then she just- she just freaked out." Jeremy told them.

"I'm gonna go look for her. Call me if you hear anything." Matt said.

"I'll help. With her condition, it's probably dangerous." Rob said.

"You think?" Alex said as they left. "I should go, too. I'll check the park and the Grill." He told Jeremy.

"Good luck, man." Jeremy said.

A few hours later, the others were starting to get worried. "Maybe we should check in with Matt." Jeremy suggested. Margret was on her cell phone.

"He'll call when he finds her." Elena pointed out.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Jeremy asked.

"We wait. We're supposed to wait."

"I don't know what's wrong with her."

"Okay, got it. You should get home soon. Melody's probably worried." Margret said. She hung up. "She wasn't at the park. Rob said Matt hasn't found her either."

"She'll be fine. It'll all be fine." Elena told them, trying to keep them calm. Just then, the doorbell rang. The siblings headed to the door to find Damon.

"You two get upstairs." Elena told them. Margret didn't understand it, but she went up with Jeremy. She'd do anything to get away from Damon.

"You're afraid of me." Damon noticed as soon as the others were upstairs. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up."

"Stay away from me." Elena told him.

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan." He told her. "May I come in? Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited." He stepped inside the house. "We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. Where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki." Elena told him. "Oh, and if you ever do anything to hurt Margret or any of her friends, I will take you down."

"Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena asked.

"Got the whole life story, huh?" E

"I got enough." Elena told him. "And if you ever do anything to hurt Margret or any of her friends, I will take you down".

"Oh, I doubt that. Tell my brother I'm looking for him." He started to leave. "Oh, tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house." As soon as he was gone, Elena headed upstairs.

"Why do you think he was here?" Jeremy asked Margret.

"I have no idea, twin." Margret told him. "But he gives me the creeps. There's something very weird about him."

"Like what?" Jeremy asked.

"I can't explain it. It's like, he seems normal enough, but there's something darker hidden underneath." She explained.

"He's gone." Elena told them when she came up. "Margie, can we talk for a second?" Margret followed her out of the room.

"What is it, Elena?"

"I tracked down the person who left your bracelet out." Elena told her. "And you're right, they did it for your protection."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Let's just say he's a friend." Elena told her. She hated lying, but she didn't want Margret to know just yet. "I promised I wouldn't tell you his identity."

"Is there anything you can tell me?" Margret asked.

"I can tell you that you should keep it on and never take it off." Elena said. "When you designed it, you said it protected from all kinds of dark influences. Including others."

"You mean…" Margret began. Elena nodded. "Well, I'm not sure if this bracelet really works. But I trust you and whoever this guy is, so I'll keep wearing it. Besides, with that creep still in town, I'm going to need it." Elena would've laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

"I'll see you in the morning." She told her. "I'm going to see if there's any news about Vicki. Do me a favor and don't tell Jer."

"I won't." Margret said. Elena headed back downstairs. She didn't understand why she was acting so strange lately, but she wasn't going to keep asking about it. She headed up to her room. Hopefully, they'd find something on Vicki by morning.


	7. Haunted

The next morning, Margret was getting ready to head to school. The second she stepped into the hallway, she bumped into Elena. "Sorry, Lena."

"It's okay." Elena told her. She turned back to Jeremy. "You're up early. Where are you going?"

"Police station. They're organizing the search party for Vicky, so..."

**"**Wait. Shouldn't you be going to school?" Elena pointed out.

**"**What? You're kidding me, right?"

"I know you're worried, but ditching school is not a good idea, Jer." Margret pointed out.

"If they find her, we'll know." Elena told him. "That's what cellphones are for."

**"**Yeah, you're lips keep movin'. I don't know why." They just stood there in shock as he left.

"This looks serious." Margret said.

"I'm going to be running late today." Elena told her. "You go on ahead. I've got to run an errand."

At the school, the guys were talking. "There was no sign of her?" Alex asked as they walked down the hall.

"She didn't even return last night." Rob told him. "I know if it were Mel, I'd do whatever it takes to find her."

"Yeah, but this is different." Matt pointed out. "It's like…something's off, but I can't tell what. She called, but wouldn't tell me where she was."

"Now that is weird." Alex agreed.

"Hey, guys!" Tyler came over to the group.

**"**Hey!"

**"**I heard they're putting together a search party for Vicky."

"She just called. She's okay." Matt told him.

"That's great. I figured you must have been goin' out of your mind." Tyler said.

"Yeah."

"I was just gonna offer. You know, if there's anything I could do."

"You know, we're all willing to help with this problem." Rob added.

"I appreciate it." Matt told them.

"Maybe we could look after school." Alex suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea, but knowing the girls, we'll probably end up dressing in last year's costumes again." Rob pointed out.

Meanwhile, the rest of the girls were talking in the hall. "So, my cousin wants us to dress like the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus." Amy told them. "And she's even forcing Bonnie in on it."

"I don't think she's going to like that." Margret said. "She hates the whole witch thing."

"Yeah, what's up with that anyway?" Melody asked. "I mean, not like witches are real or anything, but she seems to really dislike the idea of magic in general."

"Please, like you're not skeptic about healing properties of crystals." Margret pointed out.

"Okay, you've made your point." Melody said.

"I planned on going as something else instead." Amy told them. "I mean, not that witches aren't cool, but I feel bad about having to return it."

"Why don't I wear yours?" Margret suggested. "I mean, I don't really have anything to wear to the dance besides the jewelry I made."

"What about that psychic thing you planned on?"

"I'd never wear something like that." Margret told them. "Besides, the skirt got torn up last Halloween during that fight."

"You're a great friend, Margret." Amy said.

"I still don't know how that got started in the first place." Melody said.

"None of us were expecting a ballroom blitz to happen, Mel." Amy pointed out. "By the way, what are you going as?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of dressing as a DJ, but I feel like it's too personal. Maybe I'll go as a guitarist or something." Melody told them.

After school, Alex was at home getting ready. Then his phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Matt just called." Rob told him. "Vicki just got back."

"Is she okay?"

"He said she seemed a little unstable." Rob admitted. "And then that Salvatore guy showed up."

"Why was he there?"

"Who knows? He was probably trying to help, but Vicki wanted him gone, so he made him leave."

"Now that is weird. Do you think Vicki's still high and thinks that he's the one who..." Alex lowered his voice so no one else would overhear. "…hurt those guys?"

"Anything's possible." Rob said. "Considering she's really unstable, she probably thinks that. I gotta go. I'll meet you at the party."

At home, Margret looked at the outfit on her bed and sighed. If she had known what Amy had planned on going as, she never would've agreed to this. But it was too late to back out. She headed downstairs to see how Jeremy was doing.

"You gotta call me ,Vic. I don't get it. What's going on with you? Just...just call me please." He said, eventually hanging up the phone.

"He's really worried about her." Margret said as Elena walked in.

"I know." Elena told her. "If there was only some way to…" She cut off and went over to Jeremy. "Hey. So, um, do you wanna hang out tonight? We could go to the ,uh, Halloween thing at school."

"Cool. Sure. Sounds uh... sounds fun. Can't wait."

"Okay, enough already." Margret said. "You've been moping over her all day."

"I know you're upset about Vicky. I heard she called Matt. But you can't be with her. She needs to get better." Elena continued. "The best thing you can do for her is let her go."

"What does that even mean, "let her go"? Oh ,okay, sure. Since we're such experts on letting people go, right?"

"Hey, leave them out of it, Jer." Margret said, defending her sister immediately. "They've got nothing to do with Vicki."

"I know you may not see it, but trust me Jer. It's for the best." Elena said.

**"**Look, for month after mom and dad died, I felt like crap, like "nothing really even mattered" crap." Jeremy told her. "Now all of a sudden, I get these moments and things started to feel just a little bit better, and Vicky was in every single of 'em. So you may not see it, but trust me. Keeping me away from her is not for the best." He left the room.

"He really isn't taking this well." Margret said. "I'm starting to get worried about him, too." She seemed concerned. "Why do you think they should break up? I mean, she makes him happy, even though I personally don't like her."

"Yeah, but she's very unstable, so it's better if they just…" Elena shook her head, having trouble explaining. "I'm not trying to be unsupportive, but I'm worried she may lose it and hurt him. But he's so hung up on her, he can't see the risk."

"I get it." Margret said. "I wish I could help, but I promised to meet my friends."

"After last year?"

"Amy loaned me a costume." Margret explained. "I should probably go change." She headed upstairs.

At the party, Amy was talking with Melody. "Can you believe this?"

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, you make a cute witch." Melody told her.

"What are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"Remember when I thought of having that band?"

"The pop star look always did look good on you, Mel." The girls turned and saw that Margret had shown up. She was wearing a light blue dress and a hat to match.

"Oh, that didn't turn out as well as I thought." Amy said.

"You're telling me." Margret said. "This is your idea of a costume? I don't see how anyone can wear this. And you know I don't look good in blue."

"It was the only color they had when I got it." Amy told her. "Besides, I'd have worn it if Caroline hadn't forced me into this. Oh, and by the way, she gave the crystal to Bonnie. If you want, you can talk to her about it."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Melody." Rob called a short distance way. The girls turned. "They ran into another problem."

"Look, just have them fix it. I'm taking the night off from singing or being the DJ." Melody told him.

"Excuse me?" Someone tapped Margret on the shoulder. She turned around. "Margret? Wow, I wasn't expecting to see you dressed…"

"As a princess?" She finished. "I suppose it beats wearing the hockey uniform."

"Yeah, at least you got an actual costume." Alex told her. He was wearing his football uniform.

"Still, it's not like we get tired of seeing you in uniform." Melody told him.

"I'm going to see how Matt's doing." Rob said. "He seemed kind of upset earlier."

"So, where's your cousin?" Alex asked Amy.

"Knowing her, probably getting drunk somewhere." Amy said. "I should probably get back to the rest of my 'sisters.'" She put air quotes around sisters. "Margret, want to come?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to help Rob." Alex told them. "This seems like a girl thing."

"I'll go, too." Melody told them. "Tell Rob I'm going to be with them. I don't need a repeat of last year." The group went their separate ways.

The guys found Matt with Elena. "Didn't you guys do this last year?" Rob asked, noticing their costumes.

"Neither of us knew we were coming until the last minute." Matt told him. "It's better than the vampire outfit Vicki's wearing, anyway."

"Hey, have either of you two seen Jeremy?" Elena asked.

"No, I just got here." Alex told her.

"I'm sure he's around somewhere, Lena." Rob said. "Try not to worry about it too much, okay? Besides, last I checked, I saw her wandering around in the building."

"Thanks, man." Matt said. Elena had already taken off. The guys decided to go with her. After a few minutes, they found her and Vicki with Stefan. "What's going on?"

"Everything's fine." Stefan told him.

"I told you to quit bothering me." Vicki said.

"No, Vicki. Don't do this." Elena told her.

"Matt, he won't leave me alone."

"You need to back off."

"Matt, it's okay." Elena tried talking to him.

"I'm with Lena on this one." Rob said. "There's no way Stef would do anything bad to her."

"I think she might be…"

"She's gone!" Elena interrupted.

"I'm trying to help her." Stefan explained. The two of them ran off to find Vicki.

"Look, from what I can tell, Vicki thinks that he's the guy who was in the cemetery that night." Rob explained to Matt. "Considering how high she'd been the past few days, it's no surprise."

"Let's just try and find her, okay?" Matt told him. "I'm really worried about her now." The guys took off in separate directions.

It didn't take the girls long to find Bonnie. "Hey, what'd I miss?" Amy asked.

"Not much. Caroline's been trying to find her date." Bonnie said. Margret noticed the pendant around her neck.

"Is that it?" She whispered to Amy. Amy nodded. "You know, that really does go with your costume."

"Thanks, I just wish it didn't look like such a piece of junk." Bonnie said.

"You know, they say that amber protects against negative influences." Margret told her.

"Really? That's kind of cool."

"Makes it seem like less of a piece of junk now, doesn't it?" Melody pointed out. "Though it does look kind of old."

"Well, Caroline got it from Damon." Bonnie pointed out.

"Speaking of which, I'm outta here." Margret said. The other girls noticed him. "I don't know about you two, but I'm heading back home. This night has been very weird."

At home, Margret noticed Stefan outside. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I took Elena home." He told her. "Something happened with Jeremy and she wanted to check in on him."

"I'm going to go talk with him." Margret said. "I'm sure Elena will be back any minute." As she headed inside, her sister was headed out. "How is he?"

"It's pretty bad." Elena said. "Can you stay with him? There's something I need to do."

Margret went into her twin's room. Jeremy looked like a wreck. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"What happened?"

"I can't explain it. I know what happened, but it's impossible to explain."

"Look, I'm going to be right here until you feel better about whatever happened." Margret sat down next to him. She hated seeing him like this. The last time she'd seen him so upset was when their parents died.

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you, twin." Jeremy told her.

"Hey, it's nothing." Margret pointed out. A few minutes later, she noticed a figure in the doorway. She looked up to see who it was and got defensive. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not here to see you." Damon told her. "Your sister asked me to talk with your twin over there. You can ask her if you don't believe me."

"I'm not leaving him." Margret told him.

"Some things are better left between guys, got it?" Margret left the room, not wanting to put up with him. She was too tired and emotionally drained to deal with Damon right now, so she headed back to her room. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.


	8. 162 Candles

Margret and Jenna were waiting outside the police station. Elena and Jeremy were being questioned because Vicki apparently left town. Soon, the door opened and they came out.

"Hey." Margret said.

"Look, you don't have to worry about me." Jeremy told her. "I'm fine. Really."

"I believe you, twin." Margret said.

"I'll meet you guys at the car." Elena told them. That's when Margret noticed Stefan.

"What do you think's going on with those two?" She asked as they walked toward the car.

"Who knows?" Jeremy replied. "I mean, I know they broke up, but they're still hanging out."

"Maybe she's confused about things." Margret said.

"Well, I don't blame her." Jenna said. "After everything she's been through over these past few months, maybe she just needs someone to talk to."

"Yeah, I guess." Jeremy said. Elena ran over to them just then.

"Sorry about that. Had some schoolwork to talk about."

"No problem." Margret said.

At home, Margret was trying to work on one of her bracelets, but found herself getting stuck. She threw the piece of string with the crystals and beads into the pile of crystals and beads in the container. She headed toward her sister's room to see how she was doing.

When she opened the door, she saw feathers floating around Elena's bed. Bonnie was sitting with her. "It's true Elena. Everything my grams told me." Bonnie told her.

"It's impossible."

"But it's true. I'm a witch."

"I believe you."

"That is so cool." They both turned and noticed Margret standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked.

"I came to check in on you." Margret told her.

"Okay, look. You can't tell anyone about Bonnie's powers. Not Jeremy, not Aunt Jenna, and especially not our friends, okay?" Elena told her.

"Relax, I know how to keep a secret." Margret said.

"That's good to know, cause Grams told me not to tell anyone about this." Bonnie said.

"Okay. I'll see you later." Margret said. As soon as she left the room, her cell phone rang. She went back into her room. "Hello?"

"I cannot believe this." Amy said from the other end. She was at the Grill.

"Amy? What is it?"

"Caroline's throwing a party at the Grill. When I asked her about it, she didn't answer. She was too busy in party planner mode to even register a complete thought."

"Well, considering how things have been lately, maybe she just needed a way to cheer herself up." Margret said. "Especially after the whole thing with…"

"I know. But she's invited like half the town. It probably won't be long before…" Then her call waiting went off.

"Sorry, call waiting. I'll get back to you." Margret said. "Hello?"

"Did you hear about Caroline's party?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, Amy already told me."

"Did she mention that her cousin wants me to be the DJ? Seriously, something is up with that girl. She wouldn't even let my band play at last year's talent show."

"It does seem kind of weird."

"Please tell me you'll be there. The only way I'm going is if you do, too."

"Of course I'll be there. The three of us could use a girls' night together." Margret said. "Maybe I'll invite Jeremy. He could seriously use a break from the homework."

"Is it that bad?" Amy asked. She had put the phone on three-way.

"Ever since Vicki left, he's been throwing himself into his school work." Margret told them. "You guys don't mind, right?"

"Hey, as long as he doesn't go back to pills, I'm fine with it." Melody said. "Maybe he wants to do better in school. Did you consider that he might need it for college someday?"

"I did, but I also know he's not a straight-A student, Mel." Margret told her. "I'll meet you guys at the Grill. Later." She hung up then went to her closet.

That night, the girls were at the Grill. Amy had gotten there early cause of Caroline's party planning and was relieved when the other girls showed up. "Hey, I'm glad you guys are here."

"Like we'd leave you to go to an awesome party like this without us?" Melody pointed out.

"Oh, what is he doing here?" Margret asked.

"He probably wasn't even invited." Amy said. "I'll ask Caroline."

"I'm coming, too." Bonnie just showed up and Caroline had gone over to talk with her. It sounded like they were having an argument.

"I can't give it back to you." Bonnie told her.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you this but I'm you friend, when you wear it makes you look fat." Caroline said. Amy and Margret looked at each other and knew something was wrong. "There I said it, but it's because I'm your friend so..."

"I'm sorry Caroline, I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? Bonnie it's mine."

"I thought you said it was Damon's."

"It is."

"I thought you weren't his slave girl anymore." Amy pointed out.

"I'm not." Caroline said. "I just need to get the necklace back and she won't return it."

"He's the one who really wants it back." Bonnie pointed out. Caroline reached to get the crystal, but it shocked her. Margret noticed this.

"Are you wearing polyester?" Caroline asked her.

"You were really gonna pull it from my neck. What the hell is wrong with you?" Bonnie asked. She walked away from the girls.

"Did you see that?" Amy asked.

"See what?" Margret responded. She knew she couldn't tell Bonnie's secret.

"Nothing. Guess I just imagined it." Amy said. "Come on." The two of them walked away. They noticed a blonde hanging out with Stefan.

"Who's that?" Margret asked.

"That blonde girl? She's one of Stefan's friends." Melody told them. "She's pretty cool."

"I don't think Elena's going to be happy about this."

"They're just friends. Never dated or anything." Melody clarified. "She spoke to me about possibly meeting some guys from a record company."

"That is cool." Amy said. She noticed Caroline by herself. She seemed upset. "I'm going to see what's up with Caroline." She walked over to her. Bonnie got there at the same time.

"Caroline."

"Don't talk to me."

"Don't do that, let me explain." Bonnie told her.

"What is there to explain Bonnie? You got what you wanted... and something that doesn't even belong to you by the way and, I get called a shallow, useless waste of space." Caroline informed them.

"Whoa, okay. Shallow, maybe. But useless? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Amy told her.

"Who said that to you?" Bonnie asked.

"Who do you think?" Caroline said.

"You know that not true. Don't let him treat you like that."

"As opposed to how my _best_ friend treats me." Caroline said, walking away. Amy caught up with her.

"What is wrong with you? Why don't you stand up to him?" Amy asked her. "You've been involved in feminism since the eighth grade."

"I don't know. Every time I feel like I wanna stand up to him, it's like something stops me." Caroline explained. "It's like something takes over. Could you just leave me alone?" She walked away from her. Amy got concerned and decided to call in some back-up.

Margret was walking around when she bumped into her sister. "Sorry, Elena."

"It's fine." Elena told her.

"You okay?" Margret asked.

"I'm managing."

"Are you two best friends or something?" Margret looked up. She hadn't noticed Lexi was with her.

"Actually, this is my sister." Elena told her. "Margret, this is Lexi."

"I saw you earlier." Margret said. "Are you two really just friends?"

"Yes. He's a great guy, just not my type." Lexi explained. "Besides, from what I know, he's got it bad for Elena."

"I know." Elena turned to her sister in surprise. "I've seen the way he looks at you. And it's obvious that you feel the same way."

"I'm scared." Elena admitted.

"But you're here," Lexi pointed out. "cause your crazy about him. I get it okay? I mean what's not to love." They looked over at him. Elena wondered if Lexi was saying was true. Margret looked at her.

"Listen. Take it from someone who's been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away." Lexi told Elena.

"Hey Lexi, it has been really nice meeting you." Elena said as she headed back to Stefan.

"I think she's right." Margret told her as soon as Lexi left. "I wouldn't know myself, but if I were you, I'd follow her advice."

"Yeah, even though things are complicated, I guess I can't help how I feel about him." Elena admitted.

Melody and Amy were talking at a nearby table. "So, are we still on for that sleepover?"

"Isn't that your aunt?" Melody asked. They both looked and saw Sheriff Forbes at the Grill.

"What's she doing here?" Amy wondered. Margret joined them.

"Hey, I just noticed Sheriff Forbes."

"It looks serious." Amy said. That's when Margret noticed her going over to Damon and Lexi.

"Uh oh. Look!" They glanced in her direction as Lexi fell over. The Sheriff led her out of the Grill.

"What happened? Did she do something that we don't know about?" Melody asked.

"I don't think so. Lexi's cool. She doesn't seem like a bad person." Margret pointed out.

"Something doesn't add up here." Amy said. "I mean, first the animal attacks and now arresting an innocent person? It's like the world is ending."

"No, it's not." Melody said. "Amy, you've read too many apocalyptic books."

"Well, something's up and I'm pretty sure it's not the end of the world." Margret said.

"Where'd your sister go?" Amy asked.

"She must've left when the Sheriff took Lexi out."

"I guess." Melody said. "I think we should go. This night has been very weird."

"Yeah." Margret agreed with her. All she knew was that something was seriously wrong and was determined to find out what.


	9. History Repeating

In the hallway, Melody spoke with Margret. "Did you hear about what happened to Bonnie in math today?"

"Yeah, seems like she's going through a lot."

"It's not like her to sleep in the middle of class."

"She hasn't been holding up too well lately." Margret told her. She had a feeling that this had to do with Bonnie being a witch. She walked right by them. "Hey, Bonnie. You okay?"

"Not really." Bonnie told them. "I'll talk to you later, Margret." She hurried down the hall.

"What was all that about?" Melody asked.

"She's our ride home and we want to make sure that hasn't changed." Margret told her. It wasn't a total lie, she actually was their ride home.

Amy was with her cousin and Elena. "Have you even talked to Bonnie?"

"No, I'm mad at her .She needs to make the first move." Caroline said.

"Be the Bigger Person."

"Impossible in her presence."

"She's not an egotistical maniac, Care." Amy pointed out. "I can't believe how shallow you're being."

"Why are you so pissed at her anyway?" Elena asked.

"She's a thief. That's why. I gave her my necklace, and she refuses to give it back." Caroline said. "It's matter of principle."

"All right. Well, I tried. I'm officially out of it." Elena said.

"It doesn't technically belong to you either." Amy said. "But I'm not getting involved in this, either."

"Good. Where's Stefan?" Caroline said, changing the subject.

"He's avoiding me."

"Why?"

"It's Complicated. I'll see you later." Elena said, walking away from her. Amy caught up to her.

"Did you two get into a fight?"

"Sort of. But I don't know if we can work this one out. I have to go. If you see him, don't ask what happened." Amy just stood there as Elena walked down the hall.

Margret met with Elena and Bonnie outside. Bonnie was describing her dream to them. "And then I ended up at the remain of the old fell's church before I woke up back in the woods." She told them.

"And you always see your ancestor Emily." Elena said.

"Do you two believe in ghosts?" Bonnie asked.

"I've been a believer since we lost our parents." Margret told them.

"Two weeks ago I'd say no but now..." Elena began.

"Cause I think I'm being haunted." Bonnie said.

"I don't get it. Why Emily?" Elena asked.

"Grams said she was a powerful witch back in the civil war days and this medallion was hers ,a witch's talisman." Bonnie explained.

"Well, spirits have been known to communicate with the living through dreams." Margret pointed out. "From the description of yours, it sounds like she's trying to lead you there for some reason."

"And all started when you got the necklace?" Elena asked.

"I think she's using it to communicate with me." Bonnie said.

"Ok what does Grams say about it?"

"I can't call her. She's gonna tell me to embrace it. I don't want to embrace it, I want it to stop." Bonnie told them.

"If there's anyone who knows more about it, though, it'd be her." Margret pointed out.

"I just want this nightmare to end." Bonnie said. "It's like it's on repeat."

"Have you thought of taking chamomile? I heard that it's supposed to help."

"I'm trying to avoid anything that has to do with magic." Bonnie told her. "I'll see you later."

Margret ran into Jeremy in the hallway. "Hey. How'd the meeting go?" She asked.

"It went well." Jeremy told her. "I've got this paper I have to do for history."

"What's the subject?"

"Anything about the town." Jeremy told her.

"Looks like you're on your own for this one." Margret told him. "Local history isn't my strong point."

"You're telling me. You couldn't even remember where the town meeting was that time."

"Hey, Rob's the one who got us lost, remember?" Margret pointed out. "I'll see you later."

At lunch, the girls met up. The guys were busy hanging up posters for the swim meet. "I saw Caroline talking with Matt earlier." Melody said.

"Yeah, she said he gave her a ride home." Amy explained. "He was just trying to help her."

"I knew there was a reason I liked him." Margret said. "Even after my sister broke up with him."

"Sometimes he's too nice for his own good." Melody pointed out. "Though, when I saw them, they looked like they were arguing about something."

"Well, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seems like Caroline's been angrier than usual." Margret said.

"I know. First she's mad at Bonnie for not returning the necklace…" Amy started.

"She's still mad about that?" Melody interrupted.

"Apparently." Amy said. "I don't know what her argument with Matt was about, but she's been a little off today."

"Her and the rest of the girls." Margret pointed out. "Bonnie's been really jumpy and my sister's been more depressed than when our parents died. But still, I don't think Matt would do anything to hurt Caroline."

"He's one of the only nice guys I know around here." Amy added. "There should be more guys like him and Stefan in the world."

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him today." Melody pointed out. "Did something happen?"

"Don't ask me." Margret said. "Elena won't talk about it."

"I know. I don't get it. Did they get into a fight or something?" Amy wondered. "The whole thing's just weird."

"From what it looks like, I'd say he's trying to avoid her for some reason." Margret said.

"What reason is that?"

"I have no idea." Margret said. "But she's been kinda depressed. Even more than that first month without our parents."

"I feel bad for her." Amy admitted. "It's obvious she still has feelings for him."

"Maybe they just need some time to think things over." Melody said. "I mean, not that it's our business, but maybe we can try to help."

Outside, Amy was walking when she noticed Bonnie and Damon talking. She ran over to them, knowing this wasn't going to end well. "I'm trying to help you here."

"I don't want your help." Bonnie told him.

"You do want my help, and you don't even know it. You know why, you little witch? Cause you've stumbled into something you need to stumble out of."

"Whoa, what is going on?" Amy asked.

"It's nothing, go back inside." Bonnie told her.

"Forget it. This guy's bad news and I'm not leaving you alone with him like I did with Caroline." Amy said.

"What are you, her sister?" Damon asked.

"Cousin, actually."

"Just leave me alone or I swear…" Bonnie began.

"Don't. No threats. A, you hurt me last time. B, I wish you no harm. Believe it or not Bonnie, I wanna protect you."

"Just like you meant no harm to Caroline?" Amy asked. "Is that why you hurt her? Cause you wanted to protect her?"

"Amy, that's enough." Bonnie said.

"Well, she was a little…"

"Don't talk about Caroline like that." Amy interrupted. "Any girl would be better off without you." She walked away from him. Melody came over to her side.

"Hey, I saw that. You okay?"

"Yeah, I just had to get all that out." Amy said.

On the ride home, Margret was sitting in the back of Bonnie's car. She'd heard about her encounter with Damon from her friends. She didn't get what his problem was. "He's bad news, Elena. He really scared me." Bonnie said.

"You need to stay as far away from Damon as possible." Elena told her.

"I'm trying. He just keeps showing up." Bonnie told them.

"You're telling me. It's like he comes out of nowhere sometimes." Margret said.

"I don't want you to be alone. You're sleeping at our place tonight." Elena said. "We can make a whole night out of it."

"You could really use a break from this." Margret added. Suddenly, Bonnie pulled over to the side of the road.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked. Bonnie got out of the car and threw the necklace into the field. Then she got back in. "Are you okay?"

"Now I am. All my problems were because of that thing. Can't believe I didn't do that sooner."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Margret said.

"What's your Grams gonna say?" Elena asked.

"Grams isn't the one being haunted by a hundred and fifty-years-old ghost, is she?"

"Okay, then." Bonnie started the car again and drove to their place.

Upstairs, Margret was on the phone. "So, my brother's busy with some history project. I wish I could help."

"You're terrible at history, though." Amy pointed out.

"Thanks for reminding me."

"Still, the new teacher seems pretty cool."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there." Margret said. "So, are you coming over tonight?"

"No. I don't want to get involved if there's a fight with my cousin and you're sister's friend. Besides, Melody's coming, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but I'll bet Rob's giving her the big brother act again."

"He knows she can handle herself. Relax."

"Yeah, tonight should go well." Margret said. The doorbell rang. "That's probably her. I'll see you tomorrow."

That night, the five girls were gathered in the kitchen. "I'm sorry." Caroline finally spoke up. "There. I said it. If you want the ugly-ass necklace, keep it. It's yours."

"Some apology." Melody said. Margret tried not to laugh.

"Will you hate me if I tell you I threw it away?" Bonnie asked.

"You threw it away?"

"I know it sounds crazy but the necklace was giving me nightmares. I had to get rid of it." Bonnie explained.

"You could have just given it back to me." Caroline said.

"Why?" Elena asked. "So you could give it back to Damon?"

"Screw Damon. Are we doing manicures or what?" Caroline asked.

"Thank goodness she's over him." Melody said.

"Yeah. I thought poor Amy would lose it if she kept going on about him." Margret added.

"Who has their kit?"

"Mine's in my bag." Bonnie told her.

"I brought mine, too." Melody told Margret.

"So Elena. How long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last?" Caroline asked. "Is it...like a permanent thing?"

"I don't know Caroline." Elena told her. Margret looked at her. She knew this was not a subject to talk about, so she never asked.

"Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?" Caroline asked, jerking her from her thoughts.

"What?"

"Caroline!" They gasped when they saw her holding the necklace.

"That's not possible." Margret said.

"How do you explain this, Margie?" Melody asked.

"I'm not lying to you, Caroline. I swear." Bonnie said.

"It's true. We watched her throw it into the field." Elena added. Margret nodded.

"Then explain it." Caroline said.

"It is kind of weird." Melody pointed out.

"Emily." Bonnie groaned.

"Who's Emily?" Caroline asked.

"The ghost."

"The ghost has a name now? "

"Caroline, please." Elena practically begged.

"I wonder why she won't leave me alone." Bonnie said.

"I don't know. Spirits usually connect to the living for a reason, but I don't understand what her intention is." Margret said.

"Okay, you need to stop with the sci-fi, Margie." Melody said. "You're starting to scare me."

"What is going on? Why am I not a part of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time." Caroline said.

"That's not true." Elena told her.

"Yes it is." Bonnie interrupted. "I can't talk to you. You don't listen."

"That's not true." Caroline protested.

"I'm a witch." Margret looked at her. Melody seemed surprised.

"And don't we all know it?" Caroline said. Margret felt relieved that her secret was still safe.

"See? That's what I'm talking about." Bonnie explained. "I'm trying to tell you something. You don't even hear it." She headed into the living room.

"I listen. When do I not listen?" Caroline asked them. Margret headed into the living room.

"You really don't listen half the time. Not even when your cousin was trying to warn you about your boyfriend that time." Melody pointed out. She went into the living room with the girls.

"Were you really going to tell her?"

"I don't know, maybe." Bonnie admitted. "It's just so frustrating, you know? Caroline is just too self-absorbed to pay attention to anything else."

"Even close friends have their moments. You think my friendship with Melody's perfect?" Margret pointed out. "She's my best friend, but we do get into arguments sometimes." Caroline came into the room.

"Excuse me. Could I speak to Bonnie alone?" She asked them. The girls left the room.

"So, what's going on with Bonnie?" Melody asked.

"The necklace really is giving her nightmares." Margret said. "There was a rumor that it belonged to this spirit. I guess she wants it back or something."

"I don't really believe in this stuff, but it's all very weird." Melody said.

"I know. A few months ago, I wouldn't have believed in this at all." Elena told them.

"Guys, you can come out now. We're done." They all headed back into the living room. "There is just way too much drama in this room." Caroline pointed out. "I have an idea. Why don't we have a séance?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Bonnie said.

"I'm with Bonnie on this one." Margret said. "The last time I tried this, the girls and I ended up scaring ourselves."

"Only cause Amy tried to prank us." Melody pointed out.

"Come on. Let's summon some spirits. This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do." Caroline pointed out.

A few minutes later, the girls were sitting in a circle with the lights off and candles lit. They were sitting in a circle, holding hands. "This is so creepy. Even for me." Margret said.

"This is really weird." Melody agreed.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Elena replied.

"Be quiet and concentrate." Caroline told them. "Close your eyes. Now take a deep breath. Bonnie, call to her." They followed her instructions.

"Emily, you there?" Everyone turned to look at her.

"That's all you got?" Caroline asked.

"With spirits, you should try being more formal." Margret told her. Bonnie nodded and tried again.

"Emily, I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen." Suddenly, one of the candles went out, to everyone's shock. There was a slight chill in the air.

"Did that just..." Elena began.

Yeah. it just happened." Caroline said.

"I have a bad feeling about all this." Margret said.

"So do I." Melody said.

"It's just air conditioning." Bonnie said, trying to keep everyone calm.

"Ask her to show you a sign." Caroline suggested. Bonnie looked at her like she was nuts. "Emily if you're among us, show us another sign." Nothing happened.

"See? It's not working." Bonnie told her. She was starting to get spooked now, too. "I can't, I'm done. Get the light. Please, get the light on."

"Hold on. I got it." Elena turned the lights back on. Margret and Melody were holding onto each other. Margret gasped, noticing the missing necklace.

"You guys, the necklace, it's gone." Bonnie said. Everyone started searching the house for it.

"Fun's over, Caroline. You made a point, and I get it." Elena said. "Now give it back."

"I don't have it." Caroline said. "What happened?" The girls kept looking.

"Can you believe this?" Melody asked.

"No."

"I don't know." They heard a door open. "Jeremy, are you home?" Elena called.

"Guys..." Bonnie said. She found the necklace in the bathroom. Suddenly, the door closed on her. "You guys open the door. Help me."

"What's going on, Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"Bonnie!" The lights started flickering as they heard Bonnie panic.

"Okay, what's going on?" Melody asked.

"I don't know!" Margret said.

"Bonnie, unlock the door!" Caroline yelled. The girls all struggled to open the door. Finally, it swung open. Bonnie appeared to be unharmed.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine." Bonnie told them.

"Unbelievable." Caroline said. "You were totally faking it."

"Caroline. Come on."

"No, you scared the hell out of me." Caroline headed downstairs. The rest of them looked at each other.

"Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine." Bonnie said. She walked past them.

"Something doesn't seem right." Margret said.

"I can't believe I fell for it." Caroline said.

"Get over yourself, girl." Melody told her. "We've all had enough of you complaining for one night."

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"I must go." Bonnie said, hurrying down the stairs.

"She's leaving. I'm leaving." Caroline told them.

"You guys can't leave." Elena said.

"I can. I've had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night." Caroline said.

"Thank you for having me. I'll take it from here." Margret looked at her. That didn't sound like Bonnie at all.

"That isn't you, Bonnie, is it?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Melody asked her.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked Bonnie.

"Back to where it all began." She told her.

"Bonnie! Bonnie!" Elena called after her. Then the realization hit her. "Oh My God! Emily!" Bonnie looked up at them.

"I won't let him have it. It must be destroyed." She told them. She headed out the door. As the girls went to follow her, it suddenly closed on them.

"Wait!" Elena called. The girls tried opening it.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. The door, it's not..." Elena struggled to get it open. Everyone jumped as Jeremy came in.

"What the hell?"

"God, you scared us." Margret told him.

"I'm outta here." Caroline walked out of the house.

"Okay, I have no idea what's going on, but I'm really freaked out now." Melody said.

"Wait. Please, don't you leave, too." Margret said.

"Okay, look. You two need to calm down and explain what happened." Jeremy told them.

"Caroline decided to have séance, and it all went bad from there." Melody explained.

"I'm not kidding." Margret said.

"Wanna know what I think? I think you just scared yourselves." Jeremy said. "I mean, if we were being haunted, we'd probably know about it." He headed upstairs.

"Maybe he's right." Melody said.

"I'll meet you in my room, okay?" Margret told her. She wanted to see if her sister was still okay or if she was still panicking like them. She heard her talking on the phone.

"Emily is possessing her." Elena was saying. "She said something." She waited for a response. "She said "I won't let him have it .It must be destroyed. And then she just left." There was a pause. "I don't know." Then she spoke again. "Fell's church, by the old cemetery that's where she took Bonnie in her dreams. We have to help her, Stefan." She got ready to leave.

"What's going on?" Margret asked. "Is Bonnie in trouble?"

"She's going to destroy the necklace, but I'm afraid she might be in danger." Elena told her.

"How can he do anything to…"

"He knows, Margie. He knew her family before we met." Elena explained. "I'm going to go help them. You need to stay here."

"Good luck." Margret told her. She headed back to her room, where Melody was looking at one of the crystals.

"Aren't these ones a little old?"

"Depends on your definition of old." Margret told her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I just wish there was a crystal to help with fear." Melody said.

"Look, I was scared down there, too." Margret told her. "But if I was scared all the time, how would I live?"

"You're right." Melody said. "Just promise me the next time I stay over we won't ever do that again."

"No problem." Margret said "Besides, next time, I'll make sure Caroline's not here."

"Yeah, her ideas are really bad. Remember that make-over party?"

"Who can forget that disaster?" They laughed. They spent the rest of the night making friendship bracelets and listening to a mix CD that Melody gave Margret for her birthday last year.


	10. The Turning Point

A few days later, Margret headed into the hallway. On the way out, she passed Jeremy's room and saw him sketching. The last time he'd used it had been before the accident. She found Elena and Aunt Jenna talking.

"Jeremy's got his sketch pad out." Elena told her.

"You're kidding."

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it, either." Margret said.

"Just don't say word. The minute we encourage him, he'll put it away." Elena reminded them.

"Psychology major. Check that!" Jenna pointed out.

"Hey, I'm good with keeping secrets." Margret said.

"Yeah, guess it runs in the family." Elena told her.

"You and Stefan? Update?" Jenna asked.

"He knows how I feel and where I stand and I know where he stands but it doesn't matter." She told them. "He's leaving, moving away."

"Where is he going?" Jenna asked.

"I stopped asking questions. The answers get scary."

"I just hope if he goes, he takes that no-good brother of his with him." Margret said.

"I think that might be part of the reason he's leaving, too." Elena said. "I know what the other part is." She said as they headed outside.

"Elena…" Margret had no idea what to say. For once, she really had no idea what to say.

At school, Rob caught up to the others. "Hey, I heard Matt and Caroline were hanging out together."

"Really? That's new." Margret said.

"Yeah. Caroline told me that he helped her after she got drunk at that party." Amy said. "They're just friends, though."

"Really, cause it's almost like they're dating." Melody pointed out.

"Hey, I respect my cousin's privacy." Amy said. "And I refuse to believe any rumors that go around."

"So, how are you holding up?" Margret asked Melody.

"I'm doing okay." Melody told her. "Look, I've got class. I'll see you guys tonight, right?"

"Of course." Margret said. Melody left.

"So what's up with your sister and that Salvatore guy? Did they get into a fight?" Rob asked.

"I don't know. But it seems serious." Margret said. "He's moving."

"No way. He can't just leave her like this." Amy said. "We've all seen how depressed she is. He's the only person around I've seen that can make her smile these days. No offense."

"I'll see if I can talk to her." Margret said. The group headed in their separate directions. Margret found Elena and Bonnie talking. It seemed serious, so she ducked behind a row of lockers and listened to them.

"For all I know, he's already gone." Elena was saying.

"He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye." Bonnie told her.

"Yes, he will. He thinks he's protecting me: a clean break and all that."

"so what you're gonna do?" Bonnie asked.

"what am I supposed to do? I've already begged him to not go." Elena told her. "If I ask him, I'm being selfish. It is what it is."

"You okay?" A voice asked behind Margret. She turned around, worried they might have heard the person.

"Oh, it's you, Alex." Margret said.

"What's up?" Alex asked her.

"Can we talk outside?" Margret asked.

The two of them were sitting on one of the benches. "Stefan's leaving town and Elena's given up." Margret told him. "I feel so useless because I want to help her, but I don't know how to."

"That's pretty bad." Alex agreed. "But there must be a reason he's doing this."

"She said he was doing it to protect her. Probably from his brother." Margret said. "I don't know. But the situation's tearing her apart."

"I'm sure he'd never do anything to hurt her on purpose, Margie." Alex said. "Maybe he doesn't even realize it. Look, there are some relationships that need to work themselves out."

"I know." Margret embraced him. "You always know the right thing to say."

"Hey, how many football players do you know that actually read?" Alex pointed out.

"Still, I think I should talk to him." Margret said. "I don't know, but maybe it'll help."

"It couldn't hurt to try." Alex said.

When Margret got home, Jeremy was showing his latest artwork to Aunt Jenna. "That's pretty creepy."

"You always were into drawing weird things." Margret added.

"I found this old journal in dad's stuff. Some guy named Jonathan Gilbert from the eighteen hundreds." Jeremy told them. "He wrote about demons and all these people getting murdered…"

"Okay, this is getting a little too Agatha Christie for me." Margret said.

"He was a writer." Aunt Jenna told them. "Short stories, horror stuff."

"He wrote fiction?" Jeremy asked. "Think he was just a limited or a drunk?"

"He was a Gilbert. Probably a little bit of both."

"Not all Gilberts are like that." Margret pointed out.

"Yeah, little miss 'I keep a secret diary'." Jeremy said.

"How'd you know about that?" Margret asked.

"Please, if it's one thing I know, you take after your older sister." Jeremy said.

"Her diary's not a secret though." Margret pointed out. "How'd you know I even owned one?"

"Like I'd ever tell you."

"Okay, so who needs a ride to the career fair?" Aunt Jenna asked, trying to change the subject.

"I promised to meet my friends there." Margret said.

That night, everyone was at the career fair. "Still thinking of becoming a singer?" Rob asked Amy.

"Please, my singing days ended in junior high." Amy said. "I was thinking maybe I'd get into acting or maybe fashion."

"Well, the school theater could always use a costume designer." Melody pointed out.

"Well, what about you Melody? Still thinking of becoming a DJ?"

"That or anything else music related." Melody told her. "How about you guys? Any plans besides sports?"

"Well, I was thinking of a possible football career, but I also want to get into business." Rob told them.

"Wow. Impressive." Amy said.

"Yeah. I never thought you'd be into that." Margret added.

"Well, I like being able to have a back-up plan in case." Rob said.

"As always." Melody pointed out.

"What about you, Alex?" Amy asked.

"I don't know yet." Alex said. "I haven't thought about it much."

"I was thinking about working in a library or bookstore." Margret said. "I've considered writing, but I don't think I can make a living out of that."

"You'd be great at anything, Margret." Alex told her. The group was checking out the other exhibits. Alex went over to Margret. "I was thinking of doing news journalism, but my parents would never approve because according to them, they're all jerks just looking for a story."

"They can't all be that bad. Were you considering writing for a sports column?"

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." Margret told him. It really had been a lucky guess. She had no idea he was into that stuff.

Rob found Matt in the hallway. "Hey, man. Is it true that you and Care are just friends?"

"Yes." Matt said. "She's actually a lot nicer than people think, but…"

"She's insecure. I know." Rob said. "Amy keeps talking about her, and I can they're similar."

"Do you like her or something?"

"What? No!" Rob protested. "I mean, yes. I mean, she's my friend, man. I didn't even know she cared about anything until I saw her worried about Caroline's recent mood-swings."

"Well, maybe you should try to get to know her." Matt said. "I mean, if it's one thing I know about those two, is that while they may have similar interests, they are completely different."

"I'll see you around, man." Rob headed down the hall.

Margret found her sister talking with Stefan. "I don't wanna talk about my future, Stefan, because everything you're saying is making it perfectly clear you're not gonna be in it." Elena told him.

"Elena, it's not that I don't wanna be in it." Stefan told her.

"You can't, I get it! I heard you the first time and the second time and I appreciate you're looking out for me but please, if you're gonna leave, then just go."

"Elena, wait." Margret said, walking over to them. Suddenly, Aunt Jenna ran over to the group.

"Hide me."

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"The scum Fell has landed." Aunt Jenna told them.

"Logan's here?"

"Wait, Logan Fell?" Stefan asked. He headed into the hallway.

"Stefan, what's going on?"

"For the record, I always knew that guy was a jerk." Margret said. He showed up a few minutes later.

"Jenna, you're dodging me!"

"It's a form of self-preservation." Jenna told him.

"Elena, how about you take these two and go somewhere else." Stefan suggested.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Margret said. The three of them left Stefan to deal with him.

Elena pulled Jenna aside. "When Logan came to the house, what did he say?"

"Fake flattery and stupid deepen grin, puppy dog eyes."

"I'm serious Jenna. How did he act? What did he say?" Elena asked.

"He's the usual Logan, charming, a little more maniac than usual. He kept try to convince me to let him in." Margret noticed that Elena tensed. Aunt Jenna must've noticed, too. "What?"

"Okay, listen to me very carefully. Do not, in any circumstances, talk to him again. I'm serious, Jenna, like ever!" Elena told her.

"Are you okay?" Margret asked.

"Yeah, it's just, he's not a good person to be around. Trust me on this." Elena said.

"I know. There's a reason I never liked him." Alaric walked over to them.

"Hey, Elena. Jenna." He noticed Margret. "Margret. Jeremy's told me about you."

"Yeah, I know we barely look alike. Most people get that reaction when they find out we're twins." Margret said.

"Hey, Mister Saltzman." Elena said.

"Yeah I was hoping to see you tonight."

"Career night is the new bowling."

"We'll just be over here." Elena said. She and Margret left together.

"I'm going to see if I can find Melody." Margret told her. She took off down the hall. After Logan left, she found Stefan by himself. It looked like he was about to leave. "Stefan, wait up!"

He turned around and noticed her. "Margret? What is it?"

"Look, what Elena said back there, she only said it because she's upset that you're leaving." Margret told him. "She's been really depressed lately because you've been so distant with her."

"I don't mean to hurt her, but I think staying away from her might be for the best." Stefan explained.

"You don't get it, do you? The only way you're hurting her is by leaving." Margret said. "She has feelings for you, and leaving isn't going to protect her from Damon or anything."

"It isn't that easy. There are a lot of bad things that have happened around her lately and I feel sort of responsible for it." He told her.

"Don't give up on her, Stefan." Margret told him. "She might act like she doesn't care about you staying or not, but she's really just trying to protect herself from getting hurt again."

"I'll be back in minute." He headed down the hallway. Margret had a feeling that he was thinking about it more clearly this time.

In the hallway, Alex caught up to the others. Suddenly, Jeremy and Tyler started fighting again. Margret and Rob showed up at the same time. "Not again. That's the second month in a row." They rushed into the fray.

"Guys, stop it!" Margret yelled.

"Seriously, break it up, you two." Rob said. He and Alex got in between them. Then Alaric and Mayor Lockwood showed up and broke up the fight.

"Okay, easy." Alaric said. "Are you all okay?" He asked the group. They all nodded.

"You two, follow me." The Mayor said. He began to escort Jeremy and Tyler away.

"Excuse me, Mayor. Where are you taking them?" Alaric asked.

"I'm gonna talk to them." He said.

"Why do I get a bad feeling when he says that?" Margret asked.

"I'm going to check on them." Alaric left the hall.

"You alright?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, it's just hard to see them fighting all the time. Even when Vicki's gone, she still finds a way to cause trouble." Margret said.

In the hallway, Amy ran into Matt, Elena, and Stefan. "Hey, anyone know where Care…" They all looked at her. "What's going on?"

"Have you seen Logan Fell?" Elena asked. "The news guy?"

"I have." Matt said. "He's giving Caroline a ride home."

"Stay here." Stefan told Elena. He ran off.

"Why would she even accept a ride with that guy?" Rob asked. Amy turned around. She hadn't noticed him there earlier.

"I don't know. Maybe it has to do something with that argument she had with Aunt Liz." Amy said. "She wants to get into broadcast journalism, but Aunt Liz doesn't exactly approve."

"Wow. That's gotta be intense."

"I just wish they'd get along for once. I know it's not easy, since her mom's the sheriff, but it's hard to see them always going at it." Amy said.

"You think our parents support Melody's career choice?" Rob pointed out. "They wanted her to choose something more practical, but I knew that music would always be her first choice. She's got a gift for it."

"Yeah, parents are so hard to agree with these days." Amy said.

"Do you need a ride or anything?" Rob asked her.

"Well, I was going to go with Aunt Liz, but with Caroline gone, I guess I could use it." Amy said. The two of them left the school together.

"Hey, you riding with us?" Melody asked as she walked out with them.

"Yeah, there's way too much family drama going on here." Amy told her.

At the school, Margret was in the hallway when she noticed Elena and Stefan. The two of them left together. Margret smiled as she watched them leave. Alex showed up. "Hey, I was looking for you. The others seem to have disappeared on us."

"I guess." Margret said. Alex looked where she had a few seconds ago.

"You think they'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I think they will be." Margret told him.

"Want me to take you home?" Alex asked.

"It's kinda a far walk, isn't it?" Margret asked. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go with Aunt Jenna."

"Have a safe night, Margie."

"You too, Alex." He watched as she headed back down the hallway.

Outside, Alex was walking toward the parking lot, when he noticed Jeremy with Tyler. "Hey, everything okay here?"

"Yeah, things just got kinda weird back there with the Mayor." Jeremy told him.

"Look, you don't need to make it everyone's business. What happened back there, I mean." Tyler told him. "You should just go."

"What is your problem, man?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know." Tyler told them.

"Come on." Alex said. "We should get going." The group left the school. All that Alex knew was that this career night had turned out to be very weird.


	11. Bloodlines

The next morning, Margret headed downstairs. Jenna went over to her. "Have you seen Elena this morning?"

"No, the last time I saw her, she gave Bonnie a ride home." Margret told her. She didn't want her aunt to know she'd really been out with Stefan. "Anyway, where's Jeremy?"

"He went to school early to speak with the history teacher." Jenna told her. "To get his topic approved."

"Guess I better get going, then." Margret headed out the front door and bumped into Stefan. "What are you doing here?"

"Elena left last night and I was wondering if she…"

"She's not here, Stefan. Sorry." Margret said. "I thought she was with you. Did something happen?"

"Nothing important." He told her. "Need a ride to school?"

"Actually, yeah. I was supposed to go with Elena, but since she's not here…"

"Come on." They left the house.

As soon as Margret got to school, she ran into Melody. "Hey, you guys ditched us last night."

"Sorry about that. We had to give Amy a ride home." Melody told her. "So, what's new?"

"Not much, really. You haven't seen my sister around here, have you?"

"No." Melody said. "But she's usually hanging out with Bonnie or Caroline."

"Hey, girls." Alex said.

"Hi, Alex."

"So, I noticed Stef dropping you off. What happened to Elena?"

"She isn't here." Margret said. "I have no idea where she is." They sat down on a bench together. "Stefan said she left last night and he stopped by the house this morning to see if she was home."

"She wasn't there?" Melody asked.

"No. I'm starting to get worried." Margret said.

"Relax, Margret. Elena knows how to handle herself." Alex pointed out. "Besides, it's not like we have any idea how to find her."

Margret got up. "I think there's someone who might be able to." She turned to them. "I have to go. I'll see you later." They watched as Margret took off into the school.

"So, what happened after I left last night?" Melody asked.

"Oh, nothing. I offered to walk her home, but she turned it down." Alex told her.

"Well, I don't blame her. After that last animal attack, she probably wants to feel safe around her family." Melody said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, it's not like you guys are together or anything." Melody pointed out. "I mean, at least that's what you keep telling us."

"We're not together." Alex said. "Jeez, don't I have a right to be concerned about my friend?"

"No need to get defensive, I was just saying." Melody told him.

In the hallway, Margret found Bonnie talking with Stefan. "I was hoping you could help me with something." Stefan told her.

"Hey, guys." Margret said. They both turned and looked at her. "Guess we had the same idea about finding Elena, huh?"

"You know?"

"I thought Elena had told you by now." Margret said.

"Stefan, look, I know Elena's okay with all of this, and I appreciate what you did to help me. But I'm not really ready to dive into it with you just yet." Bonnie told him.

"I understand. But I need your help." Stefan explained. "It's Elena. She's with Damon."

"What did you say?" Margret asked.

"He must've found her last night after she drove off." Stefan told her. "I only found out after I dropped you off here."

"We have to find her, then." Margret said.

"As much as I hate to say it, I'll help." Bonnie said. "Elena's my best friend and I don't want him to hurt her."

The three of them sat down outside. "So, how's this work?" Margret asked.

"I have Elena's necklace." Stefan said, handing it to Bonnie. "I was just hoping you could use this to make some sort of a connection. I just need to know that she's okay."

"How do you know I can do this?" Bonnie asked.

"Because I've known a few witches over the years. I've seen what they can do."

"Besides, you're the only person who can help us right now."

"I'm still new at it." Bonnie told them.

"It's okay. Give it a shot." She closed her eyes and focused. They looked at her. She opened them again.

"There's nothing. Nothing's happening." She said. "Usually there's an image or..." She picked up a leaf from the ground. "Tell me if anyone's looking." Stefan and Margret nodded in agreement and an eye out as she tried to levitate the leaf. Still nothing, to Margret's surprise.

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

"Something's wrong." Bonnie said.

"With Elena?"

"With me. There's something wrong with me." Bonnie told them. "I have to go. I'm sorry. I can't help you." They watched as Bonnie hurried toward the school.

"I think her powers are blocked." Margret said.

"That is never a good sign."

"Hey, I'm sure once she gets out what's blocking her, she'll be able to use magic again." Margret told him. "Anyway, Elena's pretty strong. She can handle anything."

"I don't know about that." Stefan told her. "She was upset when she left last night. She left this," He held the necklace up. "at the house when she left."

"Relax, I gave her a bracelet with protection crystals." Margret told him. "She should be safe, no matter what you're evil brother tries."

He laughed. "Thanks, Margret." He got up and headed into the building.

A few minutes later, Melody showed up. "Hey, how'd it go?"

"Not so good." Margret said. "I even tried calling her, but the line was busy."

"Maybe she called your aunt to let her know where she is."

"Maybe."

"So, what happened? Are those two fighting again?" Alex asked her.

"I don't know. All I know is that she left and that Damon found her." Margret said.

"What?" Melody asked.

"That's what Stefan told me. When he tried to reach her this morning, Damon answered." Margret said. "And I was worried enough before."

"Hang on, I don't think he'd hurt Elena." Alex said. The girls looked at him. "Well, what if she was hurt when he found her? He doesn't seem like someone who'd take advantage of that."

"Even then, I still don't trust him." Margret told him.

"Okay, that's it." Melody said. "I'm not going to let you sit around and worry about your big sister all day. We're going to the Grill after school and don't even try to get out of it." She headed back toward the school building.

"Well, she took care of that fast."

"When did she start taking after Amy?" Margret asked.

"Who knows?" Alex said. "But she's right, you seem really stressed out. I'm coming with you two."

A few hours later, the three of them were sitting at the Grill. "So what are we doing here again?" Margret asked.

"Trying to get your mind off everything." Melody pointed out. "Anyway, I thought it was weird that Rob volunteered to give Amy a ride home last night."

"So what? We've been friends with him for a long time." Alex told her.

"You have, he used to crash our sleepovers when we were little." Margret pointed out.

"Still, I think there's something up with this." Melody said.

"What? You don't think he likes her, do you, Mel?" Margret asked.

"Well, anything's possible." Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is Amy we're talking about. The same girl who wouldn't think twice about dating a basketball player or her friend's brother." Margret pointed out.

"Are you saying that just because you tried to hook her up with Jeremy that time?" Melody asked.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know he was already seeing someone? He pretty much kept it secret until the school year started."

"Still, it doesn't hurt to check before setting up the date." Melody pointed out.

"Like it matters. They found out they had nothing in common at all and called it quits before it even started." Margret said.

"Speaking of your brother…" Alex started. He was looking at the side. The girls turned and noticed Jeremy playing at one of the game tables with a cute girl.

"Who's that?" Melody asked.

"I don't know, but she's really cute." Margret said.

"Let's just hope she's nicer than the last girl he fell for." Alex said.

"I know. The last thing we need is a repeat of the whole Vicki incident." Margret said.

"I'll be right back." Melody said. She got up and left them sitting there.

"So, why'd you volunteer to take me home last night?" Margret asked.

"Well, the others had left and my place isn't too far from yours, I figured walking you back wasn't a big deal." Alex told her.

"Oh."

"Why did you turn me down?"

"Like I said, I had a ride with Aunt Jenna." Margret told him. "Besides, Jeremy seemed kinda upset. I think he was trying to figure out why Tyler wouldn't talk about his family."

"Well, some things might be personal, you know? Not everyone likes to open up all the time." Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Melody came back a few minutes later.

"Hey, what'd I miss?"

"Not much." Alex told her.

"Just talking." Margret said at the same time. She blushed.

When Margret got home, she ran into Jeremy. "Hey."

"Hey, Margret."

"Who was that girl at the Grill earlier?"

"Oh, Anna? She's just someone I met at the library. She's convinced that the history paper is centered around vampire fiction." Jeremy said.

"Wow, someone's read a lot of books."

"Well, I didn't believe her." Jeremy told her. "I mean, there's no such thing."

"I don't know, maybe she's just into it." Margret said. She headed upstairs.

The next morning, she woke up to her cell phone ringing. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Margret, I'm sorry I didn't call back sooner."

"Elena? How are you?"

"I'm okay. I'm on my way back now."

"Where have you been?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She heard Elena say.

"When I heard you were with Damon, I got worried." Margret told her.

"Relax, I made sure he didn't try to mess with me. I'll be home soon."

About an hour later, Margret heard a door slam and headed into Elena's room. She was lying down on the bed. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just been a rough couple days." Elena told her.

"What happened?"

"Well, I crashed my car." Elena explained. "Damon found me and helped me get out of it. After recovering from the crash, I had him bring me back here."

"Whoa. Looks like my friends were right. I'm glad you're okay, though."

"Yeah, so am I."

"I have to do something." Margret told her. She headed back to her room to write in her diary. She had the feeling there was something else going on here, but had no idea what it was.


	12. Unpleasentville

The group was at the Grill the next day. "So, you guys ready for the dance tonight?" Amy asked.

"Are you kidding? I've had my outfit planned for months." Melody said.

"I'm always ready." Margret said.

"I don't really see the point of these theme dances." Alex told them. "Especially when you're one of the guys who gets stuck working the party."

"That's a bummer." Melody said.

"Well, I need the extra credit."

"I guess we'll be meeting you there, then." Melody said. Margret looked over the side to see Bonnie confronting Damon.

"Uh, guys. I think we have a problem." They glanced in her direction.

"What's he doing here?" Amy asked.

"Apparently causing trouble." Margret said. "It's something he's good at." They noticed one of the Grill workers breaking it up.

"At least that's over with." Melody said.

"Please, I know Bonnie can handle herself if she ever gets into trouble." Margret said.

"Really? How?" Amy asked.

"She's a martial arts expert." Margret said. She knew that was the worst excuse she could come up with, but she knew she couldn't tell them Bonnie was a witch.

"So, what's up with your cousin and Matt?" Melody asked.

"Nothing. From what I can tell, I think she likes him." Amy said. "But I don't think he's over Elena yet."

"Yeah, but Elena's with someone else now." Margret pointed out.

"He gets it, but you know how Caroline is." Amy said.

"Margret's right, though. He needs to move on." Melody pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's only been a few months."

"Who's side are you on?"

"Okay, I'm getting out of here." Margret said. "I still have to get ready for the dance." She left the table and headed out the door without looking back.

Later that night, the group was at the dance. Melody was in a white dress with matching boots, and Amy was in a pink dress, with black lining around the edges. Margret wore an orange dress with red patches on the skirt.

"I barely recognize this place." Amy said.

"The committee did a great job with setting up." Melody said. Margret looked around to see if she could find anyone she knew, but it was impossible. The girls headed out to the dance floor together.

"Hey, nice dress." Someone told Amy. She turned and saw her cousin standing nearby.

"Thanks. You're outfit looks awesome, too."

"It wasn't easy, believe me."

"Just be grateful you didn't have to go shopping with her." Bonnie added. A few minutes later, Elena showed up.

"Hey, I was beginning to think you were a no-show." Margret said.

"I got held up." Elena told her. "Having fun?"

"No, but this took about 2 hours, so I'm at least staying half of that." Caroline said.

"Typical Caroline." Melody said.

"What's Damon doing here?" Bonnie asked. The girls turned and noticed him talking with Stefan.

"Even in a crowded room, he stands out." Amy said. Margret held her arm, not wanting her to start anything.

"He wanted to come. I promise he'll behave." Elena told them.

"So what is this, like, a threesome now, you and the Salvatore brothers?" Caroline asked.

"No, but if I'm gonna be with Stefan, then I have to learn to tolerate Damon." Elena said. "It's not like I can kill him."

"There's a thought." Bonnie said.

"I'll help." Caroline said.

"I'm in." Amy told them.

"Okay, what's with the conspiracy?" Margret asked. "Seriously, the fifties weren't about violence and hate."

"Are you sure you've got the right decade, Margret?" Melody asked.

"No, but even you have to admit this is ridiculous."

"Speaking of which, what's up with you're brother?" Amy asked. "First the history project, and now he's hanging out with some cute book girl?"

"Well, maybe he's just trying to get his life back to normal." Margret said.

"Hey, girls." They turned and found Alex standing nearby. "Can you believe this place?"

"It's like I've walked into a movie." Margret said. "Shouldn't you be at the table?"

"I'm on break." He told her.

"Think you have enough time for a dance or two?" Margret asked.

"I think so." The two of them walked away from the group.

"You think those two are…"

"Who knows, Amy?" Melody pointed out. Damon walked over to the group.

"Hi, Bonnie. Wanna dance?" He asked.

"I'm out of here." Bonnie turned to go, but he caught her arm.

"Please give me another chance."

"Back off, Damon." Caroline said. Amy left with her and Bonnie. It's probably why Melody was the only one who noticed Elena and Stefan coming over.

"Where did they go?" Elena asked.

"I don't know."

"They probably left for the Grill again. It's kinda their venting place." Melody told them.

"What did you say to them?" Stefan asked.

"I was perfectly polite." Damon said. "Elena... Would you like to dance?"

"I would love to." She turned to Stefan. "May I have is dance?" They headed out to the dance floor. Melody almost laughed.

"You just got burned." She said.

"I can see that." He looked at her. "Would you…"

"Save it, I've sworn off guys for a long time." Melody said.

"I never pegged you as a…"

"As a feminist?" Melody told him. "I'm not surprised. Most of the guys around here can be jerks, that's why I don't like them."

On the dance floor, Margret separated from Alex. "Okay, I should get back to the girls. You probably have to get back to work."

"Right." Alex said. "Thanks for helping with the break."

"Well, it was getting a little boring." Margret said. She headed back over to Melody. Alex headed back to the table, where he found Jeremy talking with the girl from the Grill.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, seeing you also neglected to invite me, I took matters into my own hands." She told him.

"You're doing that thing again."

"What thing would that be?"

"That thing where you pretend we're dating, even though we're not."

"Oh, you mean stalking. Yeah. Get over yourself. Come on. I've never been to a school dance before. Humor me."

"Really? What about at you're old school?" Alex asked.

"Actually, she was homeschooled." Jeremy told him. The girl looked at them, confused. "Oh, right. Anna, this is Alex, one of my twin's friends."

"You have a twin?"

"Yeah, she can be a bit weird sometimes though." Jeremy said.

"You're lucky you have siblings. It's just been me and my mother for a while." Anna told him.

"I'm going to find more plastic cups." Alex said, leaving them.

At the Grill, Amy was with Bonnie and Caroline. "Let's sit up there." Bonnie suggested.

"Be a little more obvious, Bonnie." Caroline said.

"Don't rain on my hot-guy parade."

"What? It's just a drizzle. Ben McKittrick? Really?" Caroline asked.

"Do you even know the guy, Care?" Amy asked.

"He's hot."

"He's a washed-up jock who pours drinks for a living." Caroline told her. "You could do way better." Just then, Matt showed up at the table. "Hi."

"What's up?"

"I cannot believe how shallow you are, Caroline." Amy said.

Back at the dance, the girls were talking. "What's up?" Margret asked.

"Do you like him?" Melody asked her.

"Alex is one of my oldest friends, Melody. You know that."

"You know what I mean, Margie."

"No, I don't." Margret told her. "Look, there's nothing going on with us."

"Really? It didn't seem that way to me."

"Melody, I'm serious. We're not together." Margret told her.

"Okay, sorry." Melody said. "I just thought…never mind."

"I'm just glad we're not like them." They turned and saw Elena and Stefan dancing.

"Never said you were. It was just something I picked up on."

"I'm not Amy, Melody. I'm not in denial at all." Margret told her.

At the Grill, Amy saw Caroline walk out after talking with Matt. She caught up to her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"It was stupid of me to think that we could be anything more than friends." Caroline told her.

"Care, come on. It isn't your fault."

"I know that. He's not over her yet." Caroline said.

"These things take time, you know." Amy said. "I remember Margret still wasn't over the accident a few months ago. It's still hard on her sometimes."

"She's lucky she doesn't have a boyfriend or anyone close to one."

"Wow, you really haven't seen it, have you?"

"I've been a little busy with other things to worry about my friend's sister's love life, Amy." Caroline pointed out.

"I know, but maybe you need to step out of your issues and see things as they are." Amy told her. "Because you clearly have a lot to learn about the world." Caroline stopped as Amy kept walking away from her.

Back at the dance, Alex found Jeremy. "Hey, where'd Anna go?"

"She left." Jeremy told him. "It was kinda weird. She kept asking me about this journal that my ancestor kept."

"A journal? Wow, must run in the family." Alex said.

"Apart from that, she practically flipped when I told her I gave it to our history teacher."

"Why would she be interested in some old journal from your ancestor?"

"I don't know, but she's kinda strange." Jeremy said. "Really into supernatural stories and history. Anyway, how's it going with you and Margie?"

"She's cool, though it's not like we're dating or anything." Alex pointed out.

"Weird. I thought you two would be dating by now." Jeremy said. "It's obvious you have a crush on her."

"What? No, I don't like her that way." Alex told him. He sighed. "Am I really that obvious?"

"Sort of."

"Look, it's complicated, man. She's my oldest friend. I don't want to mess things up with her, not to mention our friends already think we're together when we're not."

"Just give her some time." Jeremy told him. "It's been a rough few months for all of us, and she needs to get used to the idea of going out with someone."

"You're right. Thanks, Jer."

"No problem."

Elsewhere, Melody was with Margret. "Okay, look, I know you like him, Margret."

"So what? He's my friend, Melody." Margret pointed out. "It'd be too awkward and it's not right."

"Your parents would want you to be happy, Margie." Melody pointed out.

"I don't know. I've never even been on a date before." Margret said. "Besides, I still need a little time to get things normal in my life."

"Yeah, guess you're right." Melody said.

"I have to go. I still haven't finished that homework assignment." Margret told her. She left the gym.

"Hang on," Melody caught up with her. "Maybe I can help you out. It was a partner assignment, after all."

"Till my partner bailed on me." Margret said. "Thanks." The two of them headed back to Margret's place.

Dear Diary,

I feel like something's going on with my sister and the Salvatore brothers, but I don't know what. It's like there's something they're all hiding, that they don't want anyone else to know. That Anna girl is pretty mysterious, too. I don't know what's going on, but I have a very weird feeling about all this.


	13. Children of the Damned

Margret decided to stay in that Friday night, so that she could try to figure things out. She ran into Jeremy as he headed downstairs. "Hey. What's up?"

"Anna's left like five voice mails. She's seriously starting to creep me out."

"She clearly hasn't seen enough films to know that guys don't like that stuff." Margret said.

"You're such a nerd." Jeremy said, playfully shoving her in the arm.

"I've been called worse, twin." Margret said, shoving him back. They headed downstairs to find Elena and Stefan going through an old box.

"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey. Just going through some stuff, feeling sentimental." Elena told him. "Dad had this whole family journal from years ago. I thought I'd dig it up."

"Jonathan Gilbert's journal?"

"Yeah, what do you know about it?" Elena asked.

"I just did a history report on it." Jeremy told them.

"Oh. So where is it now?"

"I gave it to Mr. Saltzman. He wanted to see it" Jeremy said.

"Well, there's a lot of history from this town in there, right?" Margret pointed out. "It was written by one of the first founders."

"Yeah, though it's full of fictional stories about demons." Jeremy told her. "There's no such things as demons or vampires."

"That's true."

"This coming from the girl who believes in spirits?" Jeremy asked.

"Shut up, Jeremy." Margret said as she headed back upstairs.

A few hours later, she was hanging out with Jeremy. "So, no cool parties or anything?"

"Amy's been dodging my calls, Alex has been acting distant lately, and Melody's working the karaoke stand tonight." Margret told him. "Not to mention Rob's been just as MIA as Amy."

"Is it weird that we're twins but have nothing in common except for that?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, we're not all that different. We both like some of the same music and researching weird topics." Margret said.

"That's more your thing."

"Hello, you're the one who did your paper on vampires." Margret pointed out.

"Why don't you go help Aunt Jenna out?"

"Talk about dodging the question." Margret headed into the kitchen and was surprised to see Damon.

"Hey."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Margret asked.

"Well, your sister's kinda helping us with something and your aunt invited me to stay for a while."

"Okay…" Margret wondered what in the world Elena was thinking, helping someone who'd hurt one of her friend's cousins. "Jenna, you do know what happened with Caroline, right?"

"Margret, you need to stop judging people for their mistakes." Jenna told her.

"Fine, but if you hurt anyone that lives in this household or any of my other friends, you're going to wish you never came to this town." Margret told him.

"Fair enough."

"Seriously, though, what is with you? Hurting Care was one thing, but I don't get why you did it."

"Let's just say she knew something I didn't want others to know about."

"You didn't have to hurt her."

"If it makes you feel better, I haven't been near her since the night my brother's friend was arrested. Anyway, what are you doing home on a Saturday night?"

"All my friends are busy." Margret told him. "Not that it's any of your business."

"I'm surprised you don't have a date or something."

"Please, not that it's any of you're business, but I don't have a boyfriend." Margret said. "I'm not really looking for a relationship right now, anyway. I'm a little surprised you're not seeing anyone, though. A lot of girls would kill to be with you."

"My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more." Damon explained. "What about you?" He asked Jenna.

"There were a few guys. Logan isn't the only loser I've dated." Jenna said. Margret was surprised to hear that.

"They ever find him? Or is he still missing?" Damon asked.

"He's not missing. He's in the Bahamas working on his tan. Very entitled, that one. Marches to his own drum. He's foul. They're all snooty." Jenna said.

"Wow. You sound just like Melody." Margret said. "Then again, in you're case, everything is true." Elena walked into the room.

"Hello, Elena."

"Hey. Where have you been?" Jenna asked her.

"Is Stefan with you?"

"He'll be here soon." Elena told him.

"Elena. Can we talk in the living room?" Margret asked. They left the kitchen. "Are you really working on a project with them?"

"Sort of." Elena told her. "Look, I kind of got roped into it. Besides, it's probably better if I don't fight them on this one."

"Okay, but I'd watch myself around Damon if I were you."

"I can protect myself around him, don't worry about that." Elena told her.

Margret was reading in the living room when Jeremy came in. "Hey. Anything new?"

"No, just trying to avoid her again." Jeremy said

"You know you're gonna have to see her sooner or later." Margret pointed out.

"I choose later." Jeremy told her. Margret got up and left. She overheard Damon and Elena talking.

"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone." Damon said.

"Trust breeds trust. You have to give it get it." Elena told him.

"Are you lecturing me?"

"Do you need to be lectured?"

"I just want her back. I'm sure you can understand that."

"I can understand that you would do anything for her, yes."

"Then you understand what I will do If anyone gets in my way."

"Everything okay in here?" Margret asked, walking in.

"Yeah, we're fine, Margie." Elena said.

"It didn't sound that way to me." Margret told them.

"I'm sorry, could you give us a minute?" Elena asked. She led her sister into the hall.

"Okay, what is going on here?"

"Well, you see, there's this girl that Damon's in love with and she's sort of in trouble." Elena told her. "We agreed to help him save her."

"That explains a lot about him." Margret said.

"Yeah, it does." Elena said. A few minutes later, she was reading in the living room while the guys played a video game.

"You said you never played this thing before." Jeremy pointed out.

"I'm a fast learner. Quick reflexes." Damon told him.

"Please, even I can beat him at this thing." Margret said. "Jer would never admit it, though. Too embarrassed to lose to a girl."

"More like my twin." Jeremy pointed out.

"You're twins?"

"Most people can't see the resemblance." Margret said. "Though they say I have my sister's eyes."

Jeremy's phone rang, but he ignored it. "Who are you dodging?" Damon asked him.

"This girl Anna. She can be, uh, persistent." Jeremy explained.

"Is she hot?"

"Yeah, but she can be weird." Jeremy told him.

"Hot trumps weird, trust me." Damon said.

"Do you only care about your girlfriend for her looks?" Margret asked him.

"No. Though I will admit she is very beautiful, but she let me see a side of her very few people know about. That's why I fell for her."

In the kitchen, Elena was with Jenna. "What are you doing with all this stuff?"

"I thought there might be something About my birth parents." Elena told her.

"Have you told them?" Jenna asked.

"I will. When the time is right." Elena said. The doorbell rang. "That's Stefan." Damon left, leaving the twins in the room.

"So, you wanna play a few rounds?" Jeremy asked.

"Bring it on, brother." Margret said.

An hour later, they were both talking about it. "Man, I cannot believe you crashed into me." Jeremy said.

"How's that even possible in this game?" Margret asked.

"I don't even know." They headed out of the room, only to run into the others. "So...I heard you found a really cool journal from back in the day." Damon said. "Who else did you show it to?"

"Huh?"

"Don't ask questions, just spill."

"You're kidding me, right?"

"I don't think he is." Margret told him.

"Jer, did you tell anyone other than Mr. Saltzman about Gilbert's journal?" Elena asked.

"Why is everybody so obsessed with that thing?" Jeremy asked. Margret looked at him surprised that he said exactly what she was thinking.

"Who else did you tell?"

"Just that girl Anna." Jeremy said.

"The hot weird one?" Damon asked.

"Yeah."

"Wait, who is Anna?" Stefan asked.

"Apparently this cute girl who has a crush on Jeremy." Margret told him. Jeremy looked at her.

"She's more like a stalker."

"How do you know her?" Damon asked him.

"I just know her." Jeremy said. "She wants me to meet her at the Grill tonight."

"Perfect. I'll drive. Come on. Okay."

"Why's everyone into our family history all of a sudden?" Margret wondered.

"I don't know, maybe we've become popular around here." Elena said. "We've got some studying to do, so we'll be upstairs."

Margret watched them go upstairs, thinking there was no way those two were just studying. A few hours later, Stefan came downstairs. "You know you're not staying the night, right?" Jenna asked.

"We're just going to hang out For a little while." Stefan told her.

"So, were you guys really studying up there?" Margret asked.

"Yeah."

"Whoa. I was way off on that one."

"You're lucky I like you." Jenna told him. "Keep the door open."

"You got it. Hey, do you have any aspirin."

"Yeah." Jeremy walked back in at that moment.

"Oh, hey, Stefan. Where'd she go?" Jeremy asked.

"She went to the bathroom."

Where'd who go?" Stefan asked.

"He has a friend over." Jenna explained.

"Really? Which friend?" Margret asked.

"Anna."

"I thought you said she was a stalker."

"Well, I wanted to be nice to her." Margret looked around and noticed Stefan had disappeared.

"Where'd Stefan go?" That got their attention.

"He was here a minute ago." Jenna said.

"Maybe he went upstairs to help Elena." Jeremy said.

"Maybe." Margret said. She wasn't sure what to think of all this. On one hand, Elena did seem to have a headache earlier. But then again, she wasn't sure who she could believe these days.

"I'm sure it's nothing, Margret." Jeremy said.

"Maybe you're right, Jer." Margret said. "But still, I keep feeling that something is wrong here."

**A/N: I had so much trouble writing this chapter, since I couldn't really find anything for Margret and her friends to do. I promise the next one will be a lot better. Anyway, it sounds like she's starting to get pretty suspicious of what's going on with Elena and the others. What do you guys think? Is she onto them? **


	14. Fool Me Once

The guys were hanging out at the Grill. Alex and Rob were with Jeremy. Amy was sitting by herself, waiting to see when Margret would show up. "Duke's a douche." Matt was saying.

"Yeah, a douche with ten kegs. Aka my new best friend." Tyler said. Jeremy laughed a bit. "What's your problem, Gilbert?" Tyler asked.

"Don't have one, Lockwood." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

"Dude, why don't you back off?" Rob asked him.

"Do you ever get bored of it?" Matt asked Tyler.

"Of what?" Tyler asked.

"Yourself." Matt said. The guys laughed.

"Good one, man." Alex said. He and Rob high-fived.

"Keep laughing, buddy." Tyler told them.

Amy saw Caroline walk in. She headed over to Jeremy, so she headed over to them, too. "Hey, Jeremy. Where is Elena?" Caroline asked. "I've been texting her and Bonnie all day about Duke's party."

"Uh, she went somewhere with Stefan." Jeremy told her.

"I am so not going to be one of those girls who disappears just because she has a new boyfriend."

"Right, like how you disappeared the other night cause of you're argument with Matt?" Amy pointed out.

"Easy, Amy." Rob said. "She's been through a rough time."

"Who's Duke?" Jeremy asked, changing the subject.

"Some guy that graduated a couple of years ago. And he throws a party every time he comes home from Duke." Caroline explained.

"Wait, Duke goes to Duke?" Jeremy asked.

"That's kinda funny when you think about it." Alex said.

"His real name's Bob or something. He's a total ass, but, he buys the beer." Caroline told them. "You should come."

"Uh, yeah, I don't think so."

"Seriously, Care, he just got over his stoner problem." Amy pointed out. "No offense, Jeremy."

"None taken."

"No, seriously. Everyone goes. Even quiet sad little loner brothers. Think about it." Caroline told him.

"Well, I'm up for it." Rob said. "Not that I'm much of a fan of drinking, but the party sounds awesome."

"I'm not sure." Amy said. "Isn't being held in the woods?"

"Don't tell me you're scared of the woods now, too." Rob said.

"No, I'm scared of what's in the woods." Amy said. "The last time there was a party there…" She shook her head, not wanting to think about how Vicki was attacked the last time.

"Hey, have any of you seen Margret today?" Alex asked.

"No, she was supposed to meet me here ten minutes ago." Amy said.

"Maybe she got held up meditating or something." Rob said.

"My sister doesn't meditate." Jeremy pointed out.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." A voice behind him said. Margret had arrived.

"I've been texting you for the past ten minutes, why didn't you answer?" Amy asked.

"My phone was off." Margret told her. "So, what's going on here?"

"Apparently we've been invited to this party in the woods." Jeremy told her.

"I don't know, Jer." Margret said. "Maybe we shouldn't go. I mean, it's probably just going to be a bunch of drunks and drug-users. No offense."

"None taken."

"So, then we'll have our own party." Alex said. "I mean, it doesn't have to be as lame as all that stuff."

"Just promise me we'll stick together this time." Margret said. "No offense, but with the last party that went down in the woods, there's safety in numbers, you know?"

"Hey, no problem, Margie." Alex told her. "We'll all be there."

Meanwhile, Amy was talking with Rob. They had moved away from the others a while ago. "So, it looks like your cousin and Matt are really getting close, huh?"

"Yeah, almost like they're dating now." Amy said. "I think she really likes him."

"I don't think he'd hurt her, if that's what your concerned about." Rob told her.

"Well, it's slow progress." Amy said. "She doesn't know if it'll work out between them, and the last thing I want is to see her upset again."

"Hey, if you want, I'll make sure he pays if he does hurt her."

"That's not necessary." Amy said. "Anyway, guess we're going to the party?"

"I'll meet you there." Rob said. "I've got practice with Alex, then I need to check on something before I head over."

"Okay."

That night, the group was in the woods. "Where's Melody?" Amy asked.

"She's back home. She got a cold the other night." Margret explained.

"Yeah, poor girl's sneezing all the time." Rob said.

"You're such a good brother to her." Amy said.

"Well, I'm not going to let her down."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh, brother. This again?" Alex asked. "Haven't you guys argued enough for one day?"

"Speaking of people who argue…" Margret nudged his shoulder. They saw Elena and Damon together.

"Seriously, what is up with them?" Amy asked.

"They're working on some kind of project or something." Margret said. "She needed both of them to help."

"Oh, so it's like a tutoring thing?"

"You could say that." Margret said. The group walked over, where they were joined by Caroline and Matt.

"Elena, hey." Matt said.

**"**Elena, oh, my have you been?" Caroline asked.

"Long story, no time to tell it." Damon told her.

**"**Wasn't talking to you."

**"**Sure you were."

"Back off, Damon." Amy said.

"Relax, I'm not here for her."

"Okay, what's going on here?" Rob asked.

"Dude, that's Stefan's brother." Alex told him.

"Oh. That explains things."

**"**We haven't met. I'm Matt." Everyone groaned when Matt stepped into the conversation.

**"**Matt, there's a reason we haven't met." Damon told him. He turned to Elena. "You and I are going that way." He started walking off, then turned and waited for her.

**"**I'm sorry, you guys." She walked off.

"Careful, Elena." Margret said as she left.

"I hope she knows what she's getting into." Amy said.

"I don't think he'd hurt her." Margret told her. They all looked at her like she was crazy. "Look, he was over the other night. He's actually not as bad as you think."

"He hurt my cousin."

"But she's getting over him." Margret said. "Besides, I had a feeling they wouldn't last long, anyway."

"Hey, I think they hired a band for this party." Alex said. "Why don't we go see?" The girls, forgetting their argument, followed him.

"Nice one." Rob whispered.

"Thanks."

A couple hours later, the group were together. Margret really wasn't enjoying this anymore. "You okay?" Alex asked.

"I'm worried about Elena. She and her friends could be attacked."

"I don't think there's anything to worry about." Amy said.

"Really? What about stalker chick?" Rob pointed out.

"Excuse me?" Amy asked. Rob pointed. They turned and saw Anna talking with Jeremy.

"What do you think's going on with those two?" Rob asked.

"I don't know." Margret said. "He says she creeps him out, but they seem to be on friendly terms with each other."

"Maybe he secretly has a crush on her, too." Amy said.

"Wouldn't surprise me. It seems like she's into him." Rob said.

"It looks like they're headed for the woods."

"Maybe we should check it out." Margret said.

"Are you insane?" Amy asked.

"No, but I'm really starting to get worried." Margret said.

"We'll cover more ground if we split into two teams." Rob pointed out.

"Call if you find anything." Alex told him. With that, the four of them split into two groups of two and walked in opposite directions.

A few minutes later, Amy was starting to feel really bad about being in the woods. "Maybe we should just get out of here." She said.

"Are you kidding me?" Rob asked. "You always want to bail whenever things are too uncomfortable for you."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is."

"Is that how you see me? Some weak girly-girl who has no idea how to protect herself?" Amy asked.

"No. I see someone who is an even worse version of her cousin."

"Hey, at least I don't sleep around." Amy said. "I always knew she was reckless, and after this thing with Damon…"

"You're worried. You have every right to be, but Matt's a good guy, Amy." Rob told her.

"I know, but things get really confusing sometimes, you know. My whole life, I spent so much time trying to be the opposite of Caroline. Sure, we have some things in common, but she's just too boy crazy to really pay attention to anything else that happens." Amy explained.

"And how do you see yourself?"

"As someone who, while might be into shopping as much as her, wants to be different. Someone who would rather have friends that have my back. Over one person to spend my life with."

"Look, I know you're worried something bad's going to happen, but it's not." Rob told her. "There's no way whatever hurt Vicki would be able to take on two of us."

"Unless it was a very large creature." Amy said.

"Hey, once we're done checking out this area, we'll head back to the party." Rob told her. Amy shivered. He put an arm around her shoulder.

Meanwhile, Margret and Alex were still looking around. "Man, I wish I could see where I was going." Margret said. "I wish I brought a flashlight or something."

"Well, we're just going to have to do without one." Alex said. Margret felt something touch her hand.

"What was that?"

"It's just me." Alex told her. "Maybe we should hold hands so we don't get separated."

"Yeah, good idea." Margret said. They grabbed hands and continued walking through the woods. "It's kinda quiet. I would give anything to hear Amy complaining."

"Yeah, me too." Alex said. "At least she never stopped talking." Margret heard something then.

"You hear that?"

"Sounds like we're not alone out here."

"It's coming from that direction." Margret said. "Let's check it out." They walked in the direction they had heard the sound come from.

Back with Amy and Rob, they had both stopped looking and were walking back. "Man, I hate being out here." Amy said.

"We'll be back soon enough. Besides, not like we found anything out here except more trees and dirt." Rob pointed out.

"Yeah, it's like why bother going for a walk out here when the landscape is completely the same no matter where you go?"

"I like you, Amy."

"So what?"

"No, I mean I like you, Amy."

"Oh." Amy looked at him in surprise.

"Look, I don't want things to be weird between us." Rob said. "I mean, your my friend and all, but I guess spending time with you made me see how awesome you are."

"I don't want to wreck things, either." She told him. "I'm just not sure if I feel the same way. I mean, no offense, but you just don't seem like the type who would…" Amy never got a chance to finish because his lips were on hers. She got lost in it for a few seconds, before remembering where they were and slapping him.

"Dude, isn't kissing someone in the woods a good way to ensure that both parties will die in the woods?" Amy pointed out.

"Sorry, I didn't…" Rob ran his hand through his hair. "You watch a lot of horror films, don't you?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I don't know the rules." Amy said. "Last thing I want is for you to sign our death sentence."

"Hey, we're almost there." Rob said. "I think I see something." Amy saw it, too. There was a light coming from a flame several feet away. The two of them walked back to the party.

"Hey, where have you two been?" Caroline asked.

"Long story." Amy said.

"You two okay?"

"Yeah, we are." Matt said.

Margret and Alex were back at Elena's house. They had found Jeremy passed out in the woods, along with Elena, Stefan, and Damon. They helped Elena get him home and came to make sure he was okay. Elena showed up and gave him a bottle of water.

"How's your head?" She asked.

"Oh, it's all right." Jeremy told them. "I just wish I knew how I passed out. I didn't drink that much, I swear."

"You should really stay away from that stuff, Jer." Margret said.

"And you don't remember anything?" Elena asked him.

"The whole thing's pretty cloudy. I know how this looks. I'm sorry."

"No, Jeremy. Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything, okay?" Elena told him.

"At least you're safe, that's what matters." Alex pointed out.

"Okay."

"I've gotta head over to Bonnie's for a little bit. Is there anything you need?" Elena asked.

"Oh, no. I'm just…I'm gonna crash."

"Okay, well, Jenna's here and I'll be back soon." Elena turned to go. "Oh, Margie. Alex. Thanks for helping us find him."

"It was nothing." Alex said.

"He's my brother, too, Lena. I'd do anything to help him." Margret pointed out. She left. Margret and Alex sat in the living room. "Thanks for helping me tonight."

"Anytime, Margie." He told her. "You know I'd help you with anything. Besides, if he were my brother, you'd probably do the same."

"Yeah, at least you don't share a birthday with him." Margret pointed out.

"Still, I admire how much you care about others." Alex told her. Margret blushed. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it was a little awkward.

"I should go check on Jeremy." She told him.

"Yeah, I guess I better be going, too. They're probably wondering where I am."

"Thanks again, Alex. For everything tonight." Margret told him. She kissed him on the cheek before heading upstairs. "Hey, how are you doing?" She asked Jeremy.

"Fine, I'm just really tired." He told her. "It's been a long night."

"I know."

"So, what were you and Alex doing?"

"We were just looking for you guys." Margret told him. "That's all. Elena was worried about you, so she had us out looking."

"Thanks." Jeremy said.

"Good night, Jeremy." Margret said, leaving. She was a little tired herself. She headed into her room to get some rest.


	15. There Goes the Neighborhood

At school, Margret was headed toward her next class when she bumped into Alex. It had been about a week since the party. "Hey."

"Hey." Alex said. "I haven't seen you in a while, how's your brother doing?"

"He's fine. You know, he's been in his room a lot lately." Margret said.

"Maybe he's been Skyping with that crush of his." Alex said.

"Anyway, what's up with Rob and Amy lately?" Margret asked.

"I have no idea." Alex told her. "They seem to have gotten closer since that party."

"Please, don't remind me." Margret said. "It's like she's been completely MIA." Just then, Rob and Amy headed around the corner, talking and laughing.

"So, I'm thinking maybe we can do a movie night?" Rob asked.

"Please, you know we can never agree on something we both like." Melody pointed out. "Not to mention Melody would be around."

"Oh, she knows." Rob said. "Do you honestly think I can hide anything from my sister?"

"Great. Now when Margie finds out, I'll be the laughing stock of the school." Amy said.

"Hey, relax. They're our friends, they'd support us no matter what." Rob pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right." Amy said. She noticed Margret and Alex. She headed over to them, dragging Rob with her. "Hey, guys!"

"What's up?" Alex asked her.

"So, I was thinking we could all hang out tonight or something." Amy told them.

"I don't know. It doesn't feel right without Melody." Margret said.

"Oh, come on. It's just one night, Margie." Amy said.

"I don't know, it sounds awkward." Alex said. "Almost like a double date."

"Well, isn't that more reason to just get it over with?" Amy asked. "I mean, there's been some tension in our group. We need a night to just relax and hang out."

"I'm in." Margret said. "Things have been weird at home, so one night out of the house couldn't hurt."

"See, that's what I'm talking about." Amy said. "We'll meet you at the Grill." They watched as Amy and Rob walked off. Margret and Alex looked at each other.

"Well, this should be interesting." Margret said.

"Yeah. So, should we meet there or do you want me to pick you up?" Alex asked her.

"How about I meet you at the town square and we head over from there?" Margret suggested. "I need to stop by my place after school."

"No problem."

"See you later."

That afternoon, Margret was looking through her closet. She picked out a pink tank top with sequins, then put it back down. She picked up a light blue T-shirt and held it up to the mirror. "So, who's the guy?" She turned around and shrieked.

"Jeremy! Don't ever do that again!" Margret yelled.

"Sorry. It's clear you have a date tonight."

"It's not a date." Margret said. "I'm going out with Amy, Rob, and Alex."

"Melody's still sick?"

"Either that or she's busy working on a new tune." Margret told him. "Now can you get out of here so I can change?"

"Okay, I get it." Jeremy said. He left the room.

A few minutes later, she had put on the T-shirt and her jeans. She looked at the clock and saw she was going to be late. She headed for the town square. Alex was waiting by the statue.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I know she's going to kill us." Margret said.

"Don't worry about it." Alex said. "Amy might be dramatic sometimes, but that doesn't mean she'll outright hate us if we're two minutes late or something." They walked over to the Grill.

Once they got inside, Amy was on them. "What took you guys so long?"

"Fashion emergency." Margret said. "I spilled sprite on my shirt and had to change."

"You have got to stop being so clumsy."

"Hey, stuff happens." Rob said. "Once my pants ripped during class."

"Wasn't that in middle school?" Margret pointed out. He looked at her. "Melody tells me everything."

"Can't keep a secret around that girl."

They all sat down at one of the tables. "So, how's practice been?" Margret asked.

"It's going pretty well." Rob said. "Too bad Alex doesn't play basketball anymore. I could use the help."

"Yeah, why did you quit, anyway?" Amy asked.

"Because my parents said football would look better on my applications." Alex told them.

"That's ridiculous. You can get a sports scholarship for anything." Margret said.

"I know, but football's kinda a big deal to my dad. Remember that one study session?" Alex asked.

"Oh, yeah. Total disaster." Margret said. Amy looked at them, having no idea what was going on.

"Oh, my God." Rob said. They all turned to find Jenna drinking with Damon and another woman.

"You've got to be kidding me." Someone sitting behind them said.

"You're telling me." Margret said. "My aunt can barely…" Then the group turned around and so did the teens at the other table. "Elena?"

"Amy?" Caroline asked.

"Margret?"

"Caroline?" They were all surprised. No one said anything for a while. "Well, this just got awkward." Amy finally said.

"You're telling me." Matt said.

"What are you guys doing here?" Amy asked.

"We're on a double date." Caroline told her. "What about you guys?"

"We're just hanging out here." Alex said. "Melody would be here, but she couldn't make it, so it's just the four of us." The two groups just looked at each other until Elena broke the silence.

"So, anyone up for a game of pool?"

A few minutes later, the two groups were hanging out at the pool table. "Man, I never would've seen the day where Aunt Jenna actually started hanging out with Damon, of all people." Margret said.

"At least he knows not to cross the line with your family." Rob said.

"At least they're having fun." Caroline said.

"They're drunk." Elena pointed out.

"Remember when Elena's parents busted us here after the homecoming?"

"Oh my god, yes!" Caroline said, laughing.

"Yeah, that was an embarrassing one." Rob said.

"You're telling me." Margret said. "That was the first time I'd seen Elena like that when she got home."

"Wait, so what happened?" Amy asked, turning to Stefan.

"How should I know?" He pointed out.

"Oh, right. You weren't in town then." Amy said.

"Well, we were wasted, it was the first time I ever got drunk." Elena explained. "I blame Matt."

"Yeah, it was totally your fault, man."

"Her parents got seated at the next booth." Matt said, ignoring Rob's comment.

"And Matt had me pretend that I was choking so we could get away."

"Except that her dad was a doctor so he jumped up to save her."

"And I ran, slipped on the wet floor and bit it in front of everyone." Elena finished. "Do you remember that? 3 stitches, a hangover for days and I was grounded from seeing this one for a week." They all laughed.

"Man, that's harsh." Alex said.

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna go to the restroom. Elena?" Caroline asked.

"Did anything happen afterward?" Amy asked.

"Well, there's not really much to say." Margret said. "That weekend I was over at Melody's house, but when I got back, Lena was stuck in bed for two days. I had never seen Dad so mad at her before."

"Well, no one's perfect, even if they think they are." Amy said. "I mean, look at Caroline."

"You've got your flaws, too, Amy." Alex pointed out.

"I never said I didn't have any."

"Uh, guys, I think I need to check something." Margret said. "Amy, can you come with me?" The girls left, leaving the four guys to themselves.

"While they're having girl talk, anyone want to finish this game?" Rob asked.

"Why not?" Alex said. "Besides, Margie and I were beating you guys anyway." The guys finished their game quickly.

"Wow. Nice one." Rob said after Stefan finished his shot.

"Is there anything you're not good at?" Matt asked.

"Double dating."

"Well, it's kinda turned into a quadruple date." Alex said. "Not like any of us are actually dating, but, you know…"

"Dude, I get it." Rob told Alex. "You really need to loosen up a bit."

"This is all kind of new to me. I usually keep to myself. I don't always fit in." Stefan told them.

"That's because you're that guy." Matt told him.

"What guy?" Stefan asked.

"The guy who seems like he has everything, so the people that don't, kind of run the other way." Matt explained.

"That was harsh, man." Alex said. Even Rob seemed surprised.

"Is that what I seem like?" Stefan asked.

"Pretty much."

"Well, that was what I thought before I got to know you." Rob said, looking at the ground.

"Hmm... What a dick!"

"Yeah."

In the girls' room, the group was talking. "Okay, what is wrong with you?" Amy asked as Margret fixed her hair.

"What are you talking about?" Margret asked.

"Alex clearly likes you, Margie." Amy told her. "Much more than a friend normally would."

"But we're just friends." Margret said. "You know, some of us aren't looking for relationships right now. It's not like I didn't just lose my parents six months ago or anything. I'm still adjusting. And maybe we don't want to be lovebirds like you and Rob."

"Wait, you're with Robert Parker?" Caroline asked.

"We've only been on a couple of dates." Amy said. "It's nothing serious right now. We're just hanging out. Besides, Melody, or his parents, or my parents are home when we're there."

"Give the girl a break, Care. She doesn't think like you." Margret said. She turned to Elena. "So, ready to head back?"

"So, what are you doing?"

"What?" Elena asked.

"The point of this was to show him how much you care about Stefan. You know, not hopscotch down memory lane." Caroline told her.

"I was just trying to make conversation." Elena said. Margret and Amy looked at each other.

"Try less." Caroline said.

"Jealous much, Caroline?" Amy said as she left the bathroom. She and Elena went out after her, with Margret following close behind. "Oh, come on. Seriously?"

"Caroline." Elena called after her as the group followed her. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm.

"Katherine?" The girls looked back to see Elena.

"I'm sorry. You have the wrong person." She told him.

"Elena, come on." Caroline said.

"My mistake." The guy said. The group walked back over to the pool table.

"He thought you were Katherine?" Margret asked. "As in the Salvatore's ex, Katherine?"

"Guess she really gets around or something." Elena told her. They groups met back up. "How's everything going?"

"Matt's cheating." Stefan said.

"No need, I'm awesome." Matt said.

"Please, you have three witnesses, Matt." Alex pointed out.

"Sorry, man. You're totally screwed here." Rob said. The group laughed.

"Everything okay with you girls?" Stefan asked.

"Everything's great." Elena said. She was holding up her cell phone.

"Hey, I saw what happened with Elena over there." Alex said, indicating to where the mystery stranger had disappeared. "Is everything cool?"

"Yeah, he just thought she was someone she wasn't." Margret said. "But it's kinda awkward."

"Hey, how about we head over to my place?" Amy asked. "We should probably give the others a break, anyway."

"Sounds cool." Margret said.

The group headed over to Amy's house. "Good thing my Mom's out." The group gasped when they entered the living room. "Yeah, we redecorated a few months ago." She said.

"This is awesome." Margret said.

"I've always wondered what this place looked like." Alex said.

"It wasn't easy. We had trouble deciding on what color the walls should be." Amy said.

"I love what you've done with it." Margret told her.

"So, you wanna do a movie night?" Amy asked them. A few minutes later, they were going through Amy's movie collection.

"You have a Fast and the Furious movie?" Rob asked, holding up a DVD.

"My Dad got it for me." Amy admitted. "He thought I was into cars when I was going through a phase, so he got it as a gift."

"I didn't know girls were into these kinds of things."

"Well, I've only seen Tokyo Drift cause of Jeremy." Margret said. "It was family night and his turn to pick the movie. It was okay, though it wasn't exactly the best two hours of my life."

"Anyway, why don't we find something we can all agree on?" Alex suggested. A few minutes later, they were back to arguing again.

"Uh, dude, you have to be kidding me." Rob said.

"What's wrong with Clue?" Alex asked.

"It's an insult to murder mysteries everywhere."

"Considering it was meant to be a comedy…" Alex pointed out.

"Not to mention it was based off the board game." Amy added.

"At this rate, all we'll be doing is playing a board game."

"No kidding." Margret agreed.

"I still think that Galaxy Quest is a better option."

"Please, if you keep this up, I'm putting on Letters to Juliet." Amy said. Everyone groaned.

"Seriously, again?" Margret asked.

"Well, what's your pick? And please don't say it's Twilight." Rob said.

"Dude, are you kidding?" Alex said. "She doesn't even watch those movies."

"Can we talk?" Amy asked. She and Margret left the room.

"Oh, this can't be good."

"Just so you know, I'm going to hold this against you one day." Alex said.

The girls were in Amy's room. "What's up?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little angry at them." Amy said.

"Well, you know, guys are stupid sometimes." Margret pointed out, sitting next to her.

"I know, it's just really lame of them to insult our picks." Amy said.

"At least you're not as bad as Caroline and her obsession with that series."

"Exactly."

"Come on." The girls headed back into the living room.

"Hey." Rob said.

"Hey, Margie, you haven't picked a movie yet." Alex pointed out. "Why don't you choose one?"

"Alright." Margret looked at the movie selections. She and Amy looked at each other and got an idea.

A few hours later, the group finished watching 27 Dresses. "Nice one, Margret." Amy said.

"I should be heading back." Rob said.

"Oh, so should we." Margret said, checking the time. "I was supposed to be back five minutes ago."

"Want me to walk you back this time? It's not that far from my place." Alex said.

"Sure."

The two of them walked over to her place. "Thanks. Tonight was kinda fun."

"Yeah, until you put that movie on."

"Hey, can I help it if I have a soft spot for romantic comedies?" Margret asked.

"You amaze me sometimes, Margie." Alex said. He kissed her on the cheek. She felt herself blushing.

"Good night." She headed inside. Alex watched her go in before walking away. They were both still smiling.

At home, the siblings were all in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. "How was your night?" Elena asked.

"Same old, same old." Jeremy said. "You?"

"Yep. What about you, Margret?"

"It was cool." Margret said. "We were at Amy's."

"Hey, I thought I saw Alex leaving a while ago." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, he walked me back." Margret said. "What?" She caught him looking at her.

"Nothing."

"Goodnight, Jer." Margret headed to her room. Things felt really awkward all of a sudden.

into her room to get some rest.


	16. Let the Right One In

The next morning, Margret woke up to a clap of thunder. She looked out her window and saw that the rain was really coming down. She checked to make sure her window was locked, then went into the hallway and ran into Elena. "You okay?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, just a little startled." Margret said. She really hated storms, ever since she was little.

"Come on, we better get Jeremy's help." Elena said. They went over to his room.

"Hey, what's up?" Jeremy asked them.

"Looks like there's a big storm rolling in. Can you help make sure all the windows are closed?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Sure." The group looked around the house, checking and double-checking to make sure that all the windows were closed and locked.

A few hours later, Margret was sitting in the living room. Melody was finally over her cold, so she came over. She was by the piano. "So, where is everyone today?"

"I don't know." Margret said. "Rob and Amy are probably hanging out again, Elena went to visit Stefan, and Jeremy left to meet Anna at the Grill."

"So, I heard about you're date from Rob." Melody said.

"It wasn't a date, Melody. The four of us were together the whole time."

"Rob said you and Alex left together."

"Okay, so he walked me home, so what?" Margret said. "I don't get what the big deal is? We've been friends for how long?"

"Okay, there's no need to get so uptight, Margie." Melody said. "I was just saying. Is it my fault the guy has a crush on you?"

"What?"

"Never mind." Melody went back to playing the piano. A few minutes later, Elena came back into the room.

"You okay?" Margret asked, noticing how tense she looked.

"Yeah, just great, Margret." Elena said. She headed upstairs.

"What do you think that was about?" Melody asked.

"If I had to guess, she probably had a run-in with Damon." Margret said.

"Should've known. That guy has a bad habit of getting on the nerves of people." Melody said.

"No kidding. That guy has some serious issues."

A few hours later, the girls were in the living room playing a dance game, when they heard a knock at the door. "Man, how is it that you always beat me at this?" Melody asked.

"Beginner's luck?" Margret suggested. Elena headed downstairs and got the door.

"Think Amy's trying to crash here again?"

"No, last I checked, she was out with Rob for the day." Margret said. They went over to Elena to find her talking with Damon.

"Is Stefan here?" He asked.

"No. Why? Something wrong?"

"He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you." Elena tried calling him.

"It's going straight to voice-mail." She turned to Damon. "Where could he be?"

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking."

"Hey, is everything okay?" Margret asked.

"Stefan left this morning and hasn't come back yet." Elena explained.

"He left in this weather?" Melody pointed out.

"He was probably visiting a relative or something." Elena said. "I'm going to help look for him."

"And you trust him?"

"Yes." Elena said. "He's Stefan's brother, guys. If anyone's able to find him, it's bound to be him."

"Watch it out there, Elena." Margret said. Elena nodded before leaving with Damon.

Hours later, there was no sign of any of them. "What do you think happened to Stefan?" Margret asked.

"I don't know." Melody said. "But I'm sure he's fine by now."

"I heard them say something about going out in the woods."

"In this rain?" Melody pointed out. "Who would be crazy enough to do that?"

"I don't know, Mel." Margret said. "It's just, it feels like there's something that's not adding up. Like something we're not getting."

"Like what?" Melody asked, going over the piano keys again. "That he's secretly Kryptonian? Come on, Margret. There's no way."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Margret said. "Although you've been watching way too much Smallville lately."

"Hey, it's not my fault that actor's hot." Melody pointed out. Margret's phone rang then.

"Hello? Amy?" Margret asked. She frowned. "Hang on, I'll put you on speaker."

"What's going on?" Melody asked.

"Aunt Liz said Caroline found a body after getting lost on the road." Amy said. She sounded scared and broken.

"Who in the world would hide a body in the woods?" Margret asked.

"Maybe it was a murderer." Melody said.

"Murderer or no murderer, it's not what was found, but who." Amy told them. "It's…it's…"

"Who is it, Amy? Whose body did they find?"

"Vicki. They found Vicki." Amy finally managed to get out.

"What?" Margret never liked Vicki much, but finding out she was dead was still awful.

"Yeah, I'm going over to find Caroline. She's really shaken by the whole thing."

"I'm going, too." Margret said. "I need to be there for Jeremy."

"Okay." Amy hung up on them.

"Think your brother can give us a ride?" Margret asked.

"I think so." Melody said.

Margret met with everyone at Matt's house. "Hey." The others looked at her. "Amy called. Are you alright?"

"As fine as I can be." Caroline said. "I can't believe…"

"I know, I know." Amy told her. "We're all in shock, Care."

"You didn't see it. It was awful."

"I knew she left, but I never thought it'd be like this." Tyler said.

"This is just…wow…I can't believe she's…" Jeremy couldn't get the words out. Margret went over and hugged him.

"Have you called Elena?" She asked.

"Not yet."

"Maybe you should." Margret told him.

A few hours later, everyone was still sitting around.

"I still can't believe it." Matt said.

"I know." Tyler said.

"She was always full of energy." Margret said. "I wonder what happened."

"Let the experts figure it out, Margie." Jeremy told her. Caroline returned to the room.

"I made you some coffee." She handed it to Matt.

"Thanks."

"Are you... is there anything I can do?" Caroline asked.

"I just, uh...I need to be alone right now." He said. Margret knew he was hurt because of Vicki. In a way, she understood. She couldn't imagine what would happen if she lost Jeremy or Elena.

Amy went over to Caroline and held her hand. "He needs time." Caroline nodded. Just then a door opened and Elena showed up.

"Matt." She put her arms around her friend. The room was pretty much silent. Margret held Jeremy's hand. He looked at her, hoping she'd never have to experience something like this.

A few hours later, the Gilbert siblings returned home. "Jer…are you okay?" Elena asked.

"I'm gonna go get some sleep." He told her. He headed upstairs.

"It's been hard on him." Margret said. "Anyway, is your boyfriend okay?"

"Yeah, it took us a while, but we managed to get him to safety." Elena told her. "He's recovering now. I didn't find out about her until we saved him. You think Jeremy will be okay?"

"It'll take some time, but I think he'll get through this." Margret said. "I should go to bed too, actually. It's been a very long day."

"Good night, Margret." Before heading to her room, she checked on Jeremy.

"Yeah?" He called through the door.

"It's me." Margret said. She came into the room. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"It's fine, Margie."

"Jer, I'm your twin." Margret said, sitting next to him. "You can tell me anything. What are you really thinking?"

"I'm wondering how something like this could've happened to her." Jeremy said. "I mean, she was acting kinda weird before she left."

"I'm sure the police will figure it out." Margret told him. "I'll see you in the morning."


	17. Under Control

The next morning, the girls were downstairs, ready to go to school. "Where's Jeremy?" Elena asked Margret.

"Don't look at me. I knocked on his door five times this morning and he wouldn't answer. He said he was getting ready half an hour ago."

"Well, we're gonna be late if this keeps up." Elena said. Then she yelled up the stairs. "Come on Jeremy, going to school! Walking out the door now!" Jenna ran over to the girls.

"Forgot this." She handed Elena a thermos.

"Thank you." Elena said. She and Margret headed toward the door and when she opened it she was surprised to find her uncle outside.

"Elena. Margret."

"Uncle John! Hi." Elena said.

"Nice to see you again." Margret said, pretending to be happy he was there. There was just something about him she didn't like, but never could tell what it was.

"Jenna."

"John, you made it." Jenna said, surprised.

"I said I'd be here before noon." He told her, entering the house.

"what you say and what you do are typically two very different things." Jenna pointed out. Just then, Jeremy came downstairs.

"Uncle John, what's up?"

"Hey!" Jeremy headed out the door after slapping him on the arm.

"I had some business in town, I thought that a visit was in order." John told them.

"How long are you staying?" Elena asked.

"I don't know yet."

"Ok, well, we're gonna go to school, I'll see you later." Elena told him.

"Bye." Margret said as they headed out the door. "What is it about him that gets on everyone's nerves?"

"No idea, Margie." Elena said. "But I don't wanna find out."

At school, Margret was talking to Amy about it. "So we don't know how long he's staying this time, so if I need to go to yours or Melody's, you know why."

"What's the deal with your weird uncle anyway?" Amy asked. "I mean, even my aunt doesn't like him and he works with her sometimes."

"Yeah, I don't get why nobody likes the guy. On the other hand, there's something about him that seems to get on everyone's nerves." Margret said.

"We all have someone like that in our lives." Amy said. "Did you hear what my cousin tried to do for Matt?"

"What?"

"She kept dropping off stuff at his house, trying to support him." Amy said. "According to Aunt Liz, she finally went to our uncle's place."

"Poor guy, though." Margret said. "Maybe she was just trying to support him, cheer him up, you know. Vicki was his sister and Jer's still hurting from it, too."

Outside, Jeremy was with Tyler. Rob came by. "I heard."

"Let me guess, Care's equally obnoxious cousin?" Tyler asked. Rob nodded. "You are so…"

"Knock it off, will you?" Jeremy said.

"All right. They say she OD'ed." Tyler told them.

"That's what I don't get, she was doing okay." Jeremy said.

"Apparently not." Tyler said.

"Wasn't she acting kinda crazy before she left town?" Rob pointed out. "She was talking all kinds of weird stuff and hallucinating."

"How did she end up buried in the woods? That's what I don't understand." Jeremy told them.

"By whoever was with her when she OD'ed." Tyler said.

"Yeah but you leave her, you don't take the time to bury her." Jeremy pointed out.

"Maybe she saw something and… Hell man, I don't know."

"It's possible she could've gotten hurt and fell into the ditch when it was low tide or something." Rob suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" Jeremy asked. "Didn't she say that Vicki was buried near the ditch, not in it?"

"The whole thing's just complicated." Rob said.

"So, you going to the party tonight?" Amy asked as she and Margret left the building.

"I completely forgot about it. If I know Uncle John, he's probably going to make us all go." Margret said. "Obsessed with being part of the Founding Families and family legacy and stuff like that."

"Well, you know what they say about history."

"Yeah." Margret said. "So, are you going?"

"Well, I suppose someone from our family has to." Amy said. "But it's less lame since you're going, too."

That afternoon, she and Jeremy were talking. "So, guess Uncle John's talked you into going to this Founder's Day thing?"

"Uh, with our luck, he'll force us to go to all of them." Jeremy said. "I don't see the point of all this old family legacy stuff."

"You never know, Jer. Maybe one day you'll be one, too." Margret said.

"Oh, what about you?" Jeremy pointed out. "You're way more into this family history stuff than I am."

"I'm not sure if they'd recognize my achievements." Margret told him. "The Founders were all men, they probably wouldn't realize a girl's recognition."

"Well, for girl, I think you're pretty awesome."

"Oh, shut up. You're just saying that cause we're family."

"No, I'm not." Margret went back to doing her homework. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Elena answered it and started to head upstairs

"No Elena, I will not go to your bedroom with you." Margret and Jeremy looked up and saw Elena and Damon heading upstairs.

"What in the world was that about?" Jeremy shrugged.

"You know, Stefan was here earlier. Maybe he forgot something but he's unavailable, so he came to pick it up."

"Okay." Margret said. "You know, I worry about you sometimes. I know you're still upset about…it's okay if you are."

"I'm not upset, just confused." Jeremy said. "I mean, yeah, I miss her and all, but she was buried in the woods. Something feels off about this."

"All that matters is that she was found, though."

"You don't know anything about this, do you?"

"I'm just as clueless as you are." Margret said. "And a lot more freaked out. What kind of idiot would bury someone in the woods? Anyway, where is Uncle John?"

"He said something about going to a meeting." Jeremy told her.

"Before I forget, I made these last night." Margret handed him a bracelet. The stones were black.

"It's a little girly, isn't it?"

"Those stones are supposed to help with depression or negativity or something like that." Margret told him.

She headed into her room. She was reading when someone knocked on the door. "Hey." Elena said.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Margret asked.

"You mind coming for a walk with us?" Elena asked her.

Outside, the three siblings walked along the lakefront. Elena told them about how she was really adopted and had been trying to figure out who her birthparents were.

"Whoa." Margret said. "So that's what they're helping you with?"

"Yeah." Elena said. "So far, we've found no leads, though."

"I just can't believe mom and dad never told you that you were adopted." Jeremy said.

"I'm sure they would have eventually." Elena said.

"I know they would have." Margret said.

"Why were you worried about what we thought?" Jeremy asked.

"Because… I don't know. It's weird. Going you're whole life thinking you're related by blood to someone."

"Does it bug you that we're not?"

"No, Jer. You're my siblings, that's all that matters."

"I don't care if you're adopted." Margret said. "You're always going to be our sister."

"Thanks, Margie." Elena turned to Jeremy. "So, Mr. Saltzman said you've been doing great in history now."

"Yeah, yeah he's really been helping me out. He gave me some extra credit and stuff." Jeremy said.

"He loved your vampire paper."

"He thought I had a clever angle."

"What drew you to that subject matter?"

"Probably his imagination." Margret said. Jeremy looked at her. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"I don't know, boredom or maybe I'm just as nuts as the long line of Gilbert crazies." Jeremy said.

"The Gilberts aren't crazy." Elena said.

"Easy for you to say, you're not one." Jeremy said.

"Ouch." Elena said. She elbowed him playfully. He elbowed her back before running off. Both girls ran after him.

At the party, Margret was talking with Amy. "Hey."

"Hey."

"So, your boyfriend around somewhere?"

"Rob is not my boyfriend." Amy said.

"But you wish he was." Margret pointed out.

"No. Well, maybe." Amy sighed. "It's just…he understands what I've been going through. It's like I'm constantly arguing with my parents about my future career." She noticed Margret looking away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, Amy." Margret told her. "Really, it's okay if you want to talk about it."

"Forget it." Amy said. "It's not that important, anyway."

"Hey, there you are, Margie."

"Rob, you surprised me." Margret said.

"Yeah, sorry. You're brother wants to find out what really happened." Rob said.

"Didn't your aunt say it was an overdose?" Margret asked Amy.

"She did." Amy said. "I mean, that's what I heard her tell my mom, anyway. Said the medical guy examined the body and everything."

"Maybe I should go talk to him." Margret said.

"I'll go with you." Rob said. "Look, I'm just as confused as he is, but I think he's in denial about it."

They entered the room at the same time as Elena. "Jer? I heard about your conversation with Sheriff Forbes." Elena said. Margret and Rob joined her.

"No one is trying to figure out what happened to her. They all want to believe that she OD'ED."

"The coroner's office confirmed it. If that's what they said happened then…" Elena began.

"Is that what you believe?" Jeremy asked.

"I believe it." Rob said. "That chick went kinda nuts…no offense…but it's highly possible she could've died from taking one pill too many."

"I think she could've been saved if someone had found her earlier." Margret said. "I mean, she could've called her brother or the hospital or someone, but she didn't. If someone was with her, I know they would've."

"What do you think happened?" Elena asked.

"I think somebody killed her and buried her body and I don't think we should write it off just 'cause it's easy." Jeremy said.

"That's a little disturbing, Jer." Margret said.

"Yeah, I'm with her on this one." Rob told him.

"They're just doing what they can to move on." Elena told him.

"The truth is the only thing that's gonna help people to move on."

"Well, we believe what they reported is the truth." Rob said. "Look, you can't deny the chances that she…"

"Hey, I never said that." Jeremy pointed out. "But something just doesn't feel right about it."

"Jer, just let it go, okay? Whatever it was she's gone now." Elena told him.

"Whatever it was? So you don't think it was an overdose?" Jeremy asked. Margret noticed it, too.

"Yes… I do."

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Jeremy asked. The others were looking now, too. Elena looked away from Jeremy. "Why aren't you looking at me?"

"Stop it, that doesn't mean anything." Elena told him.

"Elena…" Margret didn't know what to say for once.

"If there was something else you would tell me, right?"

"Of course I would." Elena said.

"Okay, I need some air." Margret said. "Rob? You coming?" They left the room.

"What do you think?" Rob asked.

"I don't know. I don't think Elena would lie about this, but she's been kinda distant since they found Vicki." Margret told him.

"This may sound a little off, but maybe she was with Vicki when it happened and feels guilty about it." Rob suggested.

"But Vicki was in the woods when she died." Margret pointed out. "Elena barely goes to the woods unless it's for a school event."

"I don't know. But if she's hiding something, I'm sure she has a good reason." Rob said. Margret looked at him, understanding. There were some things even she couldn't her siblings.

A few hours later, the group returned home. "Not so excited that we have another month of these Founder's day events." Jenna said.

"Tell me about it." Elena said.

"Seriously. They're kinda boring." Margret said.

"Well, at least Melody will be happy. She's doing the music for two of them." Elena told her. They went to Jeremy's room. "Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine Elena." Elena left, but Margret didn't.

"Okay, I know you're lying." She said, closing the door.

"Do we really have to do this now?"

"Jeremy, look, I might not know much about what's up with you two lately, but whatever she knows, I think she's hiding it to protect us." Margret said.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"What?"

"Nothing. Good night." Margret left the room. She couldn't help but think they might end up arguing and she'd be the one caught in the crossfire.


	18. Miss Mystic Falls

At school, Margret was in the hallway. "Hey." Melody said.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Well, apart from learning the boring Founder's history, nothing." Melody told her.

"You're telling me." Rob said. "That class was totally boring. Oh, except for that Bennett girl returning."

"What did you just say?" Margret asked. She turned to Melody.

"Yeah, that's the other news. Bonnie's back."

"She came in late to History today." Rob told her.

"Yeah, things have been tough for her lately." Margret said. "Though I'm glad you told me."

A few minutes later, she found Bonnie in the hallway with Elena. "Hi, Bonnie."

"Hey, it's good to see you." Bonnie told her.

"I know it's been hard for you lately." Margret said. "So I made this." She handed her a bracelet. "We've all been going through a rough time, it seems."

"How much did I miss when I was gone?" Bonnie asked.

"A lot." Elena said. "I know it's been really hard…" Suddenly, Caroline and Amy ran over.

"Bonnie! Thank God you're home!" Caroline embraced her, to her surprise.

"I heard you were back." Amy said. "It's so good to see you again."

"I know we talked every day, but I missed you." Caroline said. "How are you doing?"

"Better." Bonnie told them. "You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy."

"Well, I can help with that." Caroline said. "Major wardrobe problem. You need to help me pick up the perfect dress for the Founder's Court."

"Just be glad you're not her personal wardrobe consultant and make-up carrier." Amy told her.

"The founder's court? Did I miss something?" Elena asked.

"The Founders Court! You know, MissMysticFalls. They announced it today and you and I are both on it." Caroline said.

"Oh my god! We signed for this so long ago… I completely forgot."

"I was going to enter, but you have to be sixteen to eighteen for that event." Margret said.

"I know. Total bummer." Amy said. "But at least we've got two people to root for."

"So, are you dropping out then?" Caroline asked.

"Caroline!" Amy could not believe her cousin sometimes.

"I can't." Elena said. She seemed sad. Margret understood and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Their mom is the one who wanted her into this." Bonnie told them.

After school, the group was walking through town. "Hey, I heard you're family members are going to be in the Miss Mystic Falls contest." Melody said.

"A bit of warning, Care really wants to win." Amy said.

"You're telling me." Rob said.

"I guess it's only fair, though. Aunt Liz is the only woman in the family who never entered the competition." Amy pointed out.

"I can understand the family tradition stuff." Margret said. "Though I'm still going to support Elena."

"Speaking of which, what's up with her and Bonnie? Did they get into a fight or something?" Melody asked.

"Why would you say that?" Margret asked her.

"Well, I was on my way to pick up the music from practice. She seemed uncomfortable around Elena and Stefan."

"Well, she's still recovering from her grandmother's death." Margret pointed out. She couldn't exactly tell them she thought it had something to do with her being a witch.

"Yeah, I know. But something just feels off about it, you know?" Melody said.

"Well, maybe she just needs some space." Alex said. "It takes a while to get over these things sometimes."

"Yeah, I know." Margret said.

At the Lockwood Mansion, the group met in the hall. "Where's Melody?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. She had to run off somewhere." Margret said.

"It's too bad you guys couldn't enter." Alex said. "I'm sure both of you would've won."

"Oh, stop it."

"I'm serious."

"Yeah, but there's always next time." Amy said.

"Hey, sorry I'm late you guys!" Melody said.

"No need to run over, Mel. It hasn't started yet." Margret pointed out.

"What happened to you?"

"I ran into Damon and that Anna chick outside."

"Since when are they friends?" Rob asked.

"I don't know. But apparently they knew each other beforehand."

"Is there any new kid in town that doesn't know anyone else here?" Amy asked. They all glared at her. "What?"

"Forget this." Margret said. "I'm going to find Jeremy. He disappeared after we came in." She went into the hallway and saw him talking with Anna. "Hey, what are you doing over hthere?" Margret asked. "Caroline's headed down now. Elena's going to be up soon."

"Really? I didn't realize." Jeremy said. "Guess I lost track of time."

"It's fine, Jeremy." Anna said. "Go on."

Meanwhile, the others were talking. "So, why couldn't Matt be here again?" Melody asked.

"He's stuck working, so she had to ask someone to fill in." Amy told her. "Apparently he's not the only date who's MIA."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Elena asked Stefan to help out, but no one's seen him around here." Amy pointed out.

"Hey, guys!" Margret ran over to them. "Sorry about that. I finally got Jeremy and Anna to join the rest of the group."

"So, what is the deal with them? Are they dating or not?" Amy asked.

"I'm guessing they are." Margret said. "They've been getting close lately."

"Have you seen any sign of your sister's date?" Melody asked.

"No. I haven't seen him since yesterday." Margret said. "I thought I saw him in the hall after I helped Elena with her dress, but I couldn't tell if it was him or not."

Just then, they announced Elena coming down. The group watched as she headed outside with Damon. "What is she doing with Damon?" Jenna asked.

"I have no idea." Alaric said.

"Well, Stefan isn't here, so he must've filled in for him." Rob said.

"How long have you kids been…" Jenna began.

"We've been here the whole time, Aunt Jenna." Margret told her.

"This just got awkward." Amy said.

"You're telling me." Melody said.

A few hours later, the group was gathered inside. "Hey, anyone see that Amber girl in here?" Rob asked.

"No, she's been missing all day." Amy told him.

"It's weird that she's a no show." Melody said. Margret looked concerned. Melody was right, of course.

"Before I crown a winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." The Mayor announced. "So, without further due it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!"

"She won. Amy, that's awesome." Melody said.

"I can't believe she did it." Amy said.

"Guess all that hard work paid off." Rob added.

A few minutes later, Caroline was getting ready to leave. "Congratulations, Care." Amy told her.

"Thanks."

"Who knew you're organizing skills would come in handy?"

"Well, it isn't always easy."

"You were great, Caroline." Melody said.

"You were." Margret agreed. "I hate to ruin the moment, but did you see where my sister went? We're supposed to ride home together."

"I don't know." Caroline said. "She left a few minutes after I was named winner. I thought I saw Bonnie follow her, though. Maybe you could ask her."

"Thanks."

Outside, Margret pulled her sweater closer to her. It had gotten cold out. In the little light she could see, she spotted the girls talking near a car. "Bonnie, wait…" She got a little closer.

"I told you I wasn't gonna make you choose, but I need to make the choice for myself." Bonnie told her. "Please, just leave me alone." She got in her car and left.

"What was that about?" Margret asked. "Are you two fighting or something?"

"It sure seems like it." Elena told her.

"Hey, she's just been through a rough time." Margret pointed out. "I'm sure you two will be friends again in no time."

"I hope you're right, Margie." Elena said. "You should probably go with Jenna. There's something I have to do."

"Okay. Guess I'll see you later." Margret said.

That night, she was on the phone with Alex. "Yeah, I'm fine." She told him. "I have no idea why they're fighting, though."

"It happens with friends sometimes, even really close friends." Alex said.

"You're right." Margret said. "But this really isn't like them."

"Maybe Bonnie still needs time to cool down." Alex told her. "You know what she gets like when she's upset or angry."

"Yeah, though I have no idea why she'd be angry." Margret said. "It's not like we did anything."

"Has your sister been hanging out with someone that she doesn't like?"

"I have no idea. But the other day, she was trying to avoid her and Stefan in the hall."

"That doesn't make sense. I thought they got along fine."

"So did I." Margret said. "Something must've happened, though."

"Don't stress over it. I'm sure by next week this whole thing will blow over." Alex told her.

"Yeah. I should probably get some rest." Margret said. "It's been a very long day."

"Goodnight, Margret."

"Goodnight Alex." She hung up and went to her bed. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.


	19. Isobel

**A/N: Okay, so I know I skipped straight to Isobel, but I couldn't think of anything for the group to do in Blood Brothers besides than sit around doing nothing. Hope you like this chapter. **

A few days later, Margret had finished getting ready for school. She and her friends were going to be helping design and build floats for the Founder's Day parade. She went to Elena's room to see if she was ready, but she was on the phone. "I'm supposed to help build the Miss Mystic float for the Founder's Day parade. If I don't I get the wrath of Caroline but I wanted to check in first." She was saying.

That was so typical of Caroline. She had actually roped Amy and Melody into helping with that one, too. And she knew she'd get the heat if she didn't help her.

"What's the matter?" Elena asked. Margret looked concerned. "Don't forget who helped me." She said, smiling. "I've got to go I'm late." She hung up and noticed Margret. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to know that Queen Caroline's going to kick our butts if we're late." Margret pointed out.

"Would it kill you to be nice to her?" Elena asked, putting on her jacket.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying, but it's hard to do when she's in charge of a school or town based project and gets us involved. I mean no offense to her, but she can be pretty bossy." Margret pointed out.

"Yeah, well she just wants things to go perfectly when the events happen." Elena said. "Don't you remember what happened during freshman year?"

"Oh, right." Margret said. "That was a mess."

"Anyway, we better get going." They left the house.

The group met in the cafeteria. "So these are the specs for the History department. For the Founder's Day float we'll be recreating the battle of Willow Creek." Alaric told them. "Tyler has been nominated at the head of the production design."

"By whom?" Tyler asked.

"By me. I've seen your sketches and they're good." Alaric told him.

"I'm not really into the…" He began.

"Well, you just pick your team, be creative and… Don't screw up." He walked away from the team.

"Great!" Tyler said. He turned to Matt. "You want to help me out with this?"

"Not really, no."

"This is awesome, Ty." Rob told him. "If you need a hand, I know where I can find materials for this kinda stuff."

"I could use all the help I can get." Tyler said.

"Traitor."

"Hey, lighten up, man." Rob said, turning to Matt. "I know you're not on the best terms right now, but this is important."

"Were you serious about finding materials?"

"There's still a ton of leftover fabric from when Melody used to create costumes."

The girls were all gathered by Caroline and Bonnie. Well, except for Elena, who had mysteriously gone missing from the meeting. "Alright, show me." Bonnie said.

"Let's reference last years Miss Mystic float." Caroline showed them a picture. "This is what they did last year and this is exactly what we don't want to do."

"Last year they didn't have us helping, though." Amy pointed out.

"Okay! So, what are we doing?" Bonnie asked.

"Southern classic elegance."

"Wait, let us guess." Margret said.

"Gone with the Wind?" They all said.

"How'd you know?" Caroline asked.

"You channel Scarlett, daily." Bonnie pointed out.

"So true!"

"Not like that's a good thing." Amy said, though she was still smiling.

"Where's Elena? She's supposed to be helping." Caroline said, looking for her.

"I don't know." Bonnie told her.

"She said she'd be here." Margret said.

"You don't think she's ditching, do you?" Melody asked.

"Please, my sister would never skip on helping others."

"Okay, what's the deal?" Caroline asked.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie said.

"Don't play dumb. You and Elena are fighting. Spill!"

"It's nothing." Bonnie told her.

"It's not nothing. You know this whole float is supposed to be about friends creating something together and everyone is fighting." Caroline pointed out. "Matt and Tyler hate each other, you and Elena are on the outs and I don't like it! And I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

"Yeah, what is going on with you two?" Margret asked. "Elena seems pretty upset these days."

"I can't talk about it, Caroline, I'm sorry." Bonnie told her.

"Does this have anything to do with…" Margret began, then hesitated. She knew she couldn't tell the others she was a witch. "Does it have to do with your grandmother's death?"

"Sort of." Bonnie said. "It's more complicated than that, though."

At home, Margret was upstairs talking with the girls. "It does seem serious." Melody said. "Elena was talking with someone and then she got upset. For a moment, I thought Bonnie would help her, but she just left."

"It must be serious. She wouldn't just leave someone by themselves."

"She wasn't alone. Stefan was with her."

"I'll call you later, Melody." Margret said. She hung up. She really had no idea what was going on here. She headed downstairs and found Jeremy and Jenna.

"Hey."

"Have you heard from Anna?"

"No. I've never even met her." Margret pointed out.

"How is Anna? I like that girl, she has fire." Jenna said.

"I don't know. She won't return my calls." Jeremy told her.

"Girl trouble?" They all looked and saw John.

"No, no trouble. Anna just owes me a call, that's it." Jeremy said.

"Is that the girl that I saw you with at the founder's pageant?" John asked. "You two are getting hot and heavy. When was the last time you saw her?"

"Why?" Jeremy asked.

"I was just making conversation. No one else in this house likes me." John pointed out. "At least I can talk to you especially if you need someone to talk to about girls."

"Oh please! I'm eating." Jenna pointed out.

"Seriously, you have got to stop bringing up that topic around us women." Margret said, leaving with her.

"He just irritates me so much." Jenna told her once they were out of the room.

"You're telling me." Margret said. "Why are most guys such jerks?"

"I have no idea." Jenna said. "Though occasionally there are some nice ones. Are you having guy trouble?"

"No, why would you ask that?"

"Just saying."

"Well, my friends think there's something up with me and Alex. At this point, I'm tired of telling them we're just friends, considering that we really are just friends." Margret said. "You'd think they'd get the message by now."

"Maybe they just figured since you two hang out a lot…" Jenna began.

"Look, Alex has been my friend since as long as I can remember, and that hasn't changed." Margret told her. "It's not like I'm just going to wake up one day and decide, hey, we should start dating."

"Okay…" Jenna said. "Look, this is probably going to sound weird, but maybe you should give him a chance." Margret looked at her. "I see the way you look when you talk about him."

"Jenna, he is only my friend. That's all he's ever been to me. If we started dating, it would be too weird."

"I think I see the real problem." Jenna said. "I'm going to tell you what you're mom told me when I was having this issue. Don't care about what your friends think about you if you decide to go through with it."

"I have some homework to finish." Margret said. She headed up to her room. A few hours later, she headed back downstairs. Elena was at the door, talking with Bonnie.

"Hi."

"Hey. I couldn't sleep last night. You were obviously upset about something and I just walked away. It's not me." Bonnie explained. "That can't be us. You're my friend, Elena. If you need me I'm here for you and I'm sorry I couldn't show you that yesterday."

"At least you're here now." Margret said. "That's what matters."

"Thanks, but I still feel awful about leaving you like that." Bonnie said, turning to Elena.

"I met my birth mother." Elena told them.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well." Margret said.

"Oh. Was it... Are you okay?" Bonnie asked. Elena broke into tears then. Bonnie came up and embraced her. Margret decided to head back upstairs, knowing they'd need time alone.

At the school, everyone was helping build the floats. Rob and Alex were helping Matt out. Tyler showed up. "Hey man. So Caroline tells me you've been on your own for the past two weeks. Is everything okay?" He asked.

"You're asking me about my mom. Seriously?" Matt said. "Look, man, why don't I just give tell her to give you a call when she comes back to town?"

"Dude, that's not what I meant okay?" Tyler said. "I'm just trying to… I don't know what to say."

"Good men don't say anything. You're a dick, end of the story." Matt told him.

"Hey, guys, knock it off." Rob said. "At least he's trying to apologize."

"Yeah, whatever happened, you both have to move past it at some point." Alex told them.

"I know." Tyler said. Matt walked away.

"Can you believe they're still fighting?" Amy asked.

"I know." Melody said. "Have you seen Margret?"

"I think she went to get more blueprints." Amy told her.

Margret went into when of the classrooms, where she ran into Bonnie and Elena. "According to Emily, Jonathan Gilbert never actually succeeded in inventing anything. Emily secretly spelled them all with magic. Compass, rings and the mystery device you told me about."

"Sorry for interrupting. I guess I'm in the wrong place."

"It's fine, Margret." Bonnie told her. She showed Elena a page. Margret looked briefly.

"Yeah, that's it. Well, a part of it. Damon only has the one piece." Elena told her.

"I should get going, my friends need help with the floats." Margret left the room.

A few minutes later, she was helping the others out. "Okay, who's idea was it to put fringe on the bottom of this thing?" Amy asked.

"Might wanna take it up with your cousin." Melody told her.

"Hey, Amy's right, though." Margret pointed out. "If it gets caught under the wheels, it could be a problem."

"So, just trim it, then." Caroline told them.

"I'll be right back." Margret said. She headed over to the guys' float, when she saw Jeremy walk away from Elena. "Great, as if things aren't falling apart enough already. Now Jeremy's fighting with Elena."

"Is there anyone at this school who isn't having a fight with someone else right now?" Rob pointed out.

"Well, I think the five of us are getting along pretty well." Alex said.

"Yeah, there's that." Margret said. "Oh, can I borrow the scissors?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." She headed back over to the float to work.

"Wait, shouldn't it be a little higher than this?" Caroline asked.

"No, we don't want it to be too high, otherwise, when it moves, chances are you'll end up falling off." Melody pointed out.

"And the last thing we need is for our Miss Mystic queen to fall off and break an arm or worse." Amy said.

"Do either of you know that woman talking to Elena?" Melody asked suddenly. They looked.

"I've never seen her in my life." Margret said.

"Something's off about her." Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Everyone turned and saw the guys' trailer had been crushed.

"Crap! Matt's under there!" Rob said.

"Come on, guys! Help!"

"Tyler, get over here." Alex said. "The rest of you, come on!" The girls ran over to help.

"Okay, girls, stay back for now." Rob said.

"Come on, we've gotta help him!" Tyler pointed out. The guys tried to lift it, but it was really heavy.

"This thing weighs a ton." Rob said.

"Hang in there." Alex told him. They finally managed to lift it. Amy and Caroline pulled Matt out from under it.

"Caroline, call an ambulance." Stefan told her. She took out her phone and called them.

"How in the world did this even happen?" Amy asked.

"Who cares? Matt's really hurt." Margret pointed out. "We have to get him to the hospital."

"Hey, thanks for the help." Rob said as Stefan left.

"Anytime." He called over his shoulder.

"How long will it take for them to get here?" Melody asked. By now the group had forgotten about the floats and were more concerned about Matt.

"The ambulance is saying in fifteen to twenty minutes." Caroline said.

"We can't wait that long!" Alex pointed out.

"I have my car. I can take him to the hospital." Tyler said.

"Caroline can take me." Matt told him.

"I didn't drive." Caroline pointed out.

"I'll wait. It's fine."

"You will not wait okay?!" Caroline yelled at him. "You need to see a doctor, Tyler is driving. End of story."

"Whoa. You really care about him." Amy realized.

"Go!" She yelled at Tyler.

"I'll bring my car around." Tyler left to get his car. Matt looked at Caroline.

"Look, forget about you're fight with Tyler for five minutes and let him help." Rob told him. "That's a serious injury. It needs to be looked at."

"Yeah, you're lucky it didn't put you in a full body cast." Alex added. Rob gave him a look that said, 'you're not helping.'

"Margret." Margret turned around to find her sister looking worried. "Have you seen Jeremy?"

"No, I thought he left."

"Let me know if you see him." Elena said. She ran off after that.

"What is up with your sister?" Amy asked.

"I don't know." Margret said. "Something's been off for the last couple weeks now."

"I have a feeling there's something going on that she doesn't want us to know about." Melody said.

Finally, Tyler pulled up. "Okay, I'm going with Matt to make sure he's okay." Caroline told them. "Amy, you take over and make sure everything gets done." She helped Matt get into the car and they left.

"Okay, first thing, Auto Club, fix the problems with that float." Amy said, immediately stepping up. "The rest of you, get back to working on the other floats. Don't just stand there, move it people!"

"She's really good at this." Melody said.

"Guess it runs in her family." Margret said as they got back to working on the floats. By the time they were finally done with the floats, it was sunset.

"Well, everything looks like it's been fixed." Amy said. "Nice job on the decorating, Melody."

"That was nothing. You should've seen the dresses I made last year." Melody told her.

"We should probably get going." Rob said. "Our parents would freak if we got home late."

"You mind dropping me off at the hospital?" Amy asked. "I want to see how Caroline's doing."

"I'm headed there, too." Rob told her. "Matt's always had my back and I want to be there for him."

"We better go, too." Margret said.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Alex asked.

"Of course." Margret said. "We'll all be there, remember?" They all headed to the parking lot.

When Margret got home, she found everyone except Elena sitting together. Jeremy was on the phone. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, Uncle John hit his head. It was an accident." He was saying.

"We're all laughing." Jenna added.

"But yeah I'm okay." There was a short pause. "Yeah."

"Hey." Margret said. "Anyone seen Elena?"

"She just called. She's on her way." Jeremy told her.

"I saw you leaving earlier. We could've used your help."

"Sorry, building floats, not really my thing." Jeremy said.

"Matt got hurt while working on one." Margret told him.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, Caroline and Tyler took him to the hospital." She explained.

"What happened?"

"We don't know." Margret said. "All we know is that it collapsed on him. It took the Auto Club three hours to find and fix the problem. Turned out to be a loose support beam."

"Man, everything always happens when I'm not around."

"Well, next time we'll record it for you."

"Right, you don't even know how to work a video camera."

"True, but my friend does." Margret pointed out. She headed upstairs. She was tired from working all day.

A few hours later, she went to Jeremy's room, to find Elena talking with him. "Elena! Just get out. Please."

"Jer, I..." He closed the door on her.

"Elena?" She turned around.

"Sorry. How much did you hear?"

"I just got up here." Margret told her. "Why's he so mad?"

"It's complicated." Elena told her. "I was trying to hide something from him, but it kinda blew up in my face."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I just want to make it up to him." Elena told her. "I'm going to bed. Today's been really exhausting." As soon as she left, Margret knocked on the door.

"I said go away." Jeremy called.

"Wrong sister, twin." Margret told him. He opened the door.

"Sorry. I'm just so mad at her."

"What happened?" Margret asked.

"Well, wait you don't know, do you?"

"What are you talking about? I don't know why you're fighting." Margret said.

"Basically, she lied to me about something important." Jeremy told her. He knew that he couldn't tell Margret what really happened because she was completely in the dark about it.

"I'm sure she had her reasons."

"Trying not to hurt me." Jeremy said. "Though not knowing the truth is worse."

"Good night, Jer." Margret said. She knew there was something up, but at the same time, didn't want to get involved in the argument herself.

A few minutes later, Melody called. "Hey, what's up?"

"Are Bonnie and Elena still fighting?"

"Not that I know of." Margret told her. "Why?"

"Amy was just with Caroline at the Grill. She told me that Bonnie seemed to be feeling guilty about something and thinks Elena won't forgive her if she found out." Melody explained.

Margret knew this had to be a witch problem. "Well, whatever it is she did, I'm sure Elena eventually will forgive her. I have to go. Big day tomorrow and all." She hung up. She couldn't help but wonder why everyone seemed to be keeping secrets from each other. She leaned back on her bed. She hoped things would clear up soon, because this was getting out of control.


	20. Founder's Day

The next morning, Margret was up early. She was going to meet up with her friends for the Founder's Day celebration. They were all going early to help the upperclassmen out. She headed to her sister's room. "Hey, I'm glad you're here." Elena told her. "What do you think?" She was wearing a gold dress and her hair was in curls.

"You look beautiful." Margret said.

"Thanks." Elena said. She couldn't help but wonder if this was what Katherine looked like. "So, are you all set?"

"Yeah. Though Jeremy seems to be taking a long time getting ready."

"Maybe Anna stopped by and wanted to see him before the parade." Elena said.

"Well, she just lost her mother." Jenna said. "It makes sense." She finished helping Elena with her dress. "Anyway, I'm sure things will be fine."

"Yeah, me too." Elena said. Margret noticed she looked sad. Jenna left the room.

"Hey, so I heard both sides, but Jer's a little angry." Margret told her. "What could be so bad that you had to hide from him?"

"Vicki." Elena admitted. "The circumstances surrounding her death were complicated and I didn't want him to know about it."

"Was it that bad?"

"Really bad." Elena told her. "Look, we're going to be late if we keep this up. We have to be at the school in fifteen minutes."

"Got it." Margret said. She headed downstairs.

At school, everyone was getting ready. "Margie, there you are." Melody said, coming up to her side. She was carrying a camera with her.

"What's up with the camera?"

"Caroline insisted that we take a few extra pictures this year for the yearbook." Melody said. "Not that I mind, I love photography."

"Not to mention the memories we'll have from this year." Amy added, coming up to them.

"Yeah, memories of helping a neurotic girl." Rob pointed out.

"Hey, only I can talk about my cousin that way!" Amy said.

"Anyway, you're a little late."

"Yeah, I was helping Elena this morning." Margret told them. "She was having a little trouble with the dress."

"Yeah, Care had the same problem. Since Aunt Liz was busy, my mom and I had to help her." Amy said.

"Well, we better go help out before this thing starts." Rob told them.

"Good idea." The group split up into pairs and walked off.

Rob and Amy walked over to find Caroline and Matt with Bonnie at the same time Tyler headed over.

"Here, I can take it." Tyler offered.

"I'll be on the float." Matt told them. He left and Rob went after him.

"Hey, man." Rob said. "You know he didn't mean it."

"I know. I'm just…I'm angry it happened." Matt explained. "First I catch him with my mother, of all people, then he fights me. It's like, there's something not normal about that."

"Well, he's always been the aggressive type." Rob pointed out. "I mean, you two have been friends as long as I can remember."

"Real friends don't beat the crap out of each other." Matt said. "Besides, it pretty much ended when I found him with my mother, anyway." He headed up onto the float. Rob looked at him and walked away, knowing it was hopeless.

"I said I was sorry." Tyler told Caroline.

"You made out with his mother and then you beat him to a pulp. You're gonna have to do a little bit better than sorry." She pointed out. She left to go join Matt.

"Things turned out well, didn't it?" Tyler said.

"Well, no offense, you do kinda deserve it." Amy said. "I mean, Matt's a good person, and you just beat him up for no reason."

"I have no idea why it happened." Tyler explained. "All I remember is being angry and that's it."

"Maybe you should see the anger management counselor here." Amy suggested. He looked at her. "Might help. And you won't have your friends mad at you all the time."

"Thanks. You know, you're okay." Tyler told her before heading over to his float.

"I get that a lot." Amy said once he was gone. Rob came over to her side.

"You alright?"

"Yeah." Amy said. "It must be hard for you, seeing them like this."

"We've all known each other forever." Rob said. "It's a little rough."

"This is weird. Caroline's right." Amy said. "We should be enjoying the town's festivities and instead, everyone's fighting with each other."

"Let's make the most of it, then." Rob said. They walked off together.

Melody finished taking a picture as Margret came up. "Hey, might want to save some memory for the actual parade."

"Yeah, good idea." Melody said. "I think that…" She cut off, looking over Margret's shoulder. She turned and found Elena and Jeremy talking. "Should we…"

"Yeah." They walked over to them.

"Jer, please…" Elena began.

"Just don't!" Jeremy told her. "You can't fix this that easily. Something like this doesn't just get fixed." He walked away from Elena.

"Jeremy?" He turned and noticed the other girls.

"Sorry you had to see that." Jeremy said.

"It's fine." Margret said. "Look, I get that you're mad at her, but she was just trying to protect you."

"What do you know, Margie?" Jeremy asked, wondering if Elena had told her yet.

"I know that she lied about not being there when Vicki died." Margret said. "That's it, I swear."

"Okay. I have to go now." Jeremy told them. He left.

"I forgot he was part of it, too." Melody said. "Anyway, Vicki?"

"It's a long story." Margret said. "And if anyone else finds out, Elena will be in trouble, so…"

"Got it." Melody said. "I won't say a word."

"Come on. I promised we'd meet Bonnie before the parade started." Margret said. The group met up nearby.

"Hey, glad to see you made it." Rob said, noticing Alex had joined the group.

"Yeah, I was helping Tyler's group with the finishing touches."

"It's hard to believe they're fighting, huh?" Amy said.

"Maybe they're just conflicted about doing what's right." Bonnie said. She seemed a little sad. Margret remembered what Amy told her on the phone the other night.

"What happened?" Margret asked.

"Let's just say I pretended to use magic to do something I didn't." Bonnie whispered. Margret nodded, understanding. The group watched as the parade went by. Occasionally Melody would snap a picture.

"I'm glad they were able to fix that problem with the floats." Amy said.

"Yeah, good thing." Melody said. "If they hadn't, this would be a total disaster."

"No kidding." Rob said. "I'm just glad Matt was able to make it here at all."

"I just wish they weren't fighting." Margret said.

"They'll work it out, I'm sure." Bonnie told her. Then she noticed Damon was standing nearby. "What do you want?"

"Just watching the parade." He told her. Trying to keep calm, she turned around and started walking away. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you." She said. The group watched as he followed a few feet from her.

"What is her deal?" Melody asked.

"Doesn't she really not like him?" Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, seems it's something we have in common." Amy said.

"Is there anyone here that doesn't hate him?" Margret asked. "No offense, but you have to admit, this is a little ridiculous."

"Hey, he messed around with my cousin. You just don't mess with family." Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Rob said. "I'd probably kill him if he'd done something like that to Melody."

"Please, I'd have kicked the guy's ass if he so much as even looked at me." Melody said. The group started laughing at that one. "I'm serious. I am so glad I'm not in a relationship. A lot of the guys I know are jerks. No offense to you two."

"None taken, sis." Rob said.

The group headed to the Grill after the parade. "How have things been at home, anyway?" Amy asked.

"They've been…awkward, I guess." Margret said. "It's like my twin and older sister are hiding something."

"Speaking of your brother, what's up with him lately?" Melody asked. "I mean, I saw him earlier. He was telling Elena to get lost."

"I don't know." Margret told her. "I have a feeling that whatever they're fighting about has to do with whatever it is I don't know about."

"Maybe they're trying to keep you out of it for a good reason." Rob said. "I remember having to keep things quiet around Melody that one time…"

"I cannot believe you're bringing that up!" Melody told him. "That is way too personal to get into." Margret blocked out their argument and looked to Elena and Jeremy. He got up and left. She walked over to her.

"Are you okay?"

"He hates me." Elena said. "I know he'll forgive me eventually, but still, I wasn't expecting it to hurt this much."

"Well, I don't hate you." Margret told her. "In fact, you're probably the one person I don't hate right now."

"I'm sorry. I have to go. I'll meet you outside later." Elena said. She left the Grill in a hurry.

Outside, Elena tried to relax. She felt guilty that she was still keeping secrets from her sister. Would she hate her if she knew what was really going on?

That evening, Margret and Alex had left to watch the fireworks. The rest of her group were at the Grill. She was standing near Elena. "So, what's up? I thought you hated watching fireworks."

"That was when I was eight." Margret said. "Besides, it's kinda nice out here. It's better than sitting home alone."

"Yeah, I guess." Alex said. "So, how is it really going with them?"

"Honestly? I just wish I knew how to help them." Margret told him. "Jeremy's angry and Elena's upset about lying to him." She noticed Damon talking with Elena and Stefan. They split up and went in two directions.

"Whoa. What's going on?" Alex asked.

"I don't know." Margret said. "Call the others. I'm going to help them." She left Alex standing there and ran to catch up with them. "Elena!"

"Margret, please tell me you've seen Jeremy." Elena told her. She seemed really worried.

"No. I think he went to the Grill or something." Margret said. "I haven't seen him all night."

"We should head over there, then." Stefan told Elena.

"Wait, he's my brother too. I'm coming." Margret said.

"But…" Elena paused. She was really tired of arguing. "Fine, come on!"

At the Grill, the rest of the group was hanging out together. "There was this time, freshman year, when Bonnie and I were in a fight and we swore that we would never talk again." Caroline said.

"I remember that." Amy said. "But you two couldn't stay mad at each other forever. Eventually, you guys found out you had to tutor each other when you were failing different subjects and made up."

"Caroline, give it a rest."

"Dude, she has a point." Rob said. "I know you're mad at Tyler, but do you really want to throw away your friendship?"

"I couldn't imagine losing my friendship with Margret or Amy." Melody said. "Even if you two can be a little weird sometimes."

"Please, no one's as awesome as you, Melody." Amy said. Just then the group noticed Mayor Lockwood arguing with Tyler. Rob, Caroline, and Matt went over.

"Mayor, is everything okay?" Caroline asked.

"You alright, Ty?" Rob asked. Tyler nodded.

"Please Tyler, I need you to go home, now. Take your friends with you." He told them.

"Why? What's going on?" Matt asked.

"I can't explain. All of you need to get home, now. Please."

"Yeah, okay." Tyler said. The mayor handed him his car keys.

"Here, take my car, it's out back. Caroline, Matt go with him." Rob went back over to the girls.

"Hey, looks like we better get going." Rob said.

"What for?"

"I don't know, but I'm following Tyler and the others." Rob said. "You guys coming?"

"I am. My cousin's with him."

"I'm in, too." Melody said.

"Okay, let's go then." They left the Grill.

Outside, Margret and her sister were still looking for Jeremy, when Stefan suddenly fell to the ground. Elena went to his side immediately. "Stefan, what's going on? What's happening?"

"My head." He managed to get out.

"What's wrong with him?" Margret asked.

"I don't know." Elena told her. She meant it, too. She really had no idea what was going on.

Meanwhile, Rob was driving his car in town. "What do you think's going on?" Melody asked.

"I don't know. I have no idea what's going on these days." Amy told her.

"I meant up ahead. Tyler's driving his really bad."

"What is he doing?" Rob asked. Suddenly, they noticed Tyler's car swerve out of control.

"Oh, God! They're gonna hit the…"

"Rob, pull over!" Melody told him. They pulled over to the side of the road and got out just as the other car crashed into a wall.

"We better get them out of there." Amy said.

"I'm calling the hospital." Rob said. He got his phone out as Amy and Melody ran to help the others out of the car.

Back in town, Margret and Elena were still with Stefan. Margret noticed a deputy coming over, then saw Alaric talking to him. The deputy left. Then Alaric went over to them and helped get Stefan up. "Mr. Saltzman, what's…" Margret began.

"Later. Right now, we have to get him somewhere safe." He told her. The group headed to an empty stairwell.

"I don't know what happened, he just dropped." Elena told him.

"Yeah, he's not the only one. The cops have gotten everyone who's gone down, they injected them vervain."

"What?" Elena asked.

A few minutes later, Stefan had recovered. Elena was talking with him. "Are you okay?"

"It's like needles were piercing my skull and it just stopped."

"Okay, what's going on?" Margret asked. Elena hesitated. She didn't know if she would be able to handle both her siblings being mad at her. She looked over at Stefan, who nodded to her.

"Well, it's like this…" Elena began. Then Alaric came over.

"I saw at least five of them go down. They're taking them to your old family's building." He told them.

"It's the Gilbert's device. It has to be." Stefan said.

"But how did he get it to work? Bonnie un spelled it." Elena pointed out.

"Maybe she didn't." Margret said. "When I saw her today, she said she felt bad about pretending to do something she didn't."

"She knows about magic?"

"She knows Bonnie really well." Elena told him.

"She's right." Stefan said. "We asked her to deactivate a device that could protect people against something like us." Then a thought occurred. "Where's Damon?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since this started." Alaric said.

"Can you get my brother, take him home?" Elena asked.

"Of course."

"Margret, I need you to go with Mr. Saltzman."

"No way. I'm going with you." Margret said. "There's no way I'm just letting you go off alone again."

"We don't have time for this, Margie."

"We can argue later." Stefan said. "Let's just go." The three of them headed into town, looking for their father's office.

"So what's going on?" Margret asked.

"Stefan and Damon are vampires." Elena told her.

"Whoa." Margret said. "That's really cool."

"Yeah, and now you're uncle's got Damon trapped in your father's old office somewhere." Stefan explained.

"It's a long story and there's really no time to explain right now." Elena told her. "But we have to find Damon before he gets killed."

In town, the others had managed to get their friends out of the car and they got them out. "I'm glad you're okay." Rob said.

"Yeah, thanks to you guys." Matt pointed out.

"That was crazy." Melody said. "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know." Amy said. "But I'm worried about Care. She keeps refusing to let them check her."

"I wish I could stay, but I think I should walk back home." Melody told her. "I'll meet you later, though."

"Hey, Melody." Amy said as she started to leave. "Thanks for helping get her out of there."

"Anytime." Melody told her. She left.

Rob walked over to her. "You okay?"

"I don't know." Amy said. "I've never been this scared in my whole life. Caroline was in that car when it crashed. What if she's hurt or…"

"Hey." Rob put his hand against her cheek. "Everything will be okay. I'm sure Ty will be up any minute and if something is up with Care, she'll be taken care of. So don't worry about it."

Amy nodded and wrapped her arms around him. It was as though Rob always knew how to make her feel better and she felt a lot stronger around him. She looked up at him. They looked at each other for a few minutes before he leaned over and kissed her lips gently.

"What happened?" They broke apart at the sound of Tyler's voice. They were both blushing, not knowing if anyone else had seen them.

"Dude, don't scare me like that." Suddenly, Amy gasped.

"Caroline!" The others looked and saw Caroline passed out on the ground.

"Caroline! Guys over here!" Matt called to the medics. "Caroline, wake up!" Amy went over to her cousin's side and checked for a pulse.

"Something's wrong. It's still there, but it feels wrong." Amy told him. She looked down at Caroline. "Hang in there, Care."

Outside, Margret was running to keep up with the others. The girls were stopped by Stefan. "Wait, wait, wait, I can hear them. The building is on fire."

"What?" Elena said.

"You can hear that?" Margret asked. Elena briefly forgot she was new to all this.

"Yeah. There's a lot you should know, but I'll tell you everything later." Elena told her. They found John outside the building.

"Uncle John?" Margret asked.

"He's a vampire hunter." Elena whispered to her. She turned to John. "Where is Damon?"

"With the rest of them where he should be." John said. "It's over for Damon." Margret looked at him in surprise. It was true she didn't exactly like Damon, but she knew he didn't deserve to die either. She saw now why everyone else hated him.

"You're crazy." Elena said.

"Why? Because I'm doing what should have been done a hundred and fifty five years ago? This is the right thing, Elena."

"How is this the right thing?" Margret said. For the first time that night, he noticed her.

"You're too young to understand, Margret…"

"Don't! I'm the same age as Jeremy, and I'm old enough to know that this is wrong!" Margret yelled at him. Stefan was looking at the building.

"Go ahead, you won't make it out. It'll save me the trouble of killing you myself." Margret glared at John. She was so angry with him.

"You now the building well, is there another entrance in?" Stefan asked.

"The emergency door, it's on the side." Elena told him. Stefan headed toward the building. Elena moved to follow, but John stopped her.

"You take one more step and I'll alert those deputies that they missed a vampire." He told her.

"I'm asking you not to." Elena said.

"That doesn't mean anything to me."

"As my father it should." Elena told him. Margret looked at them, surprised.

"You know."

"I wasn't sure but now I am." Elena said. She ran toward the building. Margret looked at John.

"I don't care if you are her birth father or not. You're still a monster." She told him before following after Elena.

The girls were both surprised to see Bonnie. "Elena, you can't go in there!"

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" Elena asked.

"She's right, though. You could get really hurt if you go in." Margret pointed out.

"I'm sorry I lied to you." Bonnie told her. She grabbed Elena's arm to keep her from running in and did a spell. A few minutes later, she opened her eyes.

"Bonnie…Bonnie what is it? Are they gonna be okay?" Elena asked.

"Look!" Margret pointed. Stefan had come out of the building with Damon.

"Oh my God!" Elena ran over to them. Margret looked over at Bonnie.

"She'll forgive you. I know it." Margret said. "Thanks for saving them."

"I only did it for them." Bonnie said. "I don't trust Damon, but he is Stefan's brother. And your sister's friend." She walked away. Margret looked after her.

"Margret, are you okay?" She turned and came face to face with her concerned sister.

"Yeah, I'm fine. He didn't try to stop me." Margret told them.

At the hospital, Rob and Amy were waiting with Matt. Tyler showed up. "Hey man. I'm so sorry. Look, I don't even know what happened." Tyler told them.

"It's okay man. She'll be alright." Matt told him.

"I hope you're right, Matt." Amy said.

"Hey, Caroline's strong. She'll make it." Rob told her.

"I know. I just don't know if I will. Between this and everything that's happened and how I feel about you…" Amy cut off, realizing what she said. "Sorry, this isn't a good time for…"

"No, it's fine." Rob said. "Amy, I love you because you're always concerned for the others." Amy stared at him in shock. A few minutes later, Sheriff Forbes showed up.

"Aunt Liz."

"What's happening, is she alright?" Matt asked. Rob got to his feet as well.

"There was some internal bleeding, they're taking her into surgery." Amy felt scared. She knew internal bleeding was never a good sign.

"What else did they say? Is she gonna be okay?" Rob asked.

"They're gonna do everything they can." Sheriff Forbes said.

"I don't believe this." Amy said.

"I'm sure she'll get through this, Amy." Sheriff Forbes told her. "My daughter's stronger than you think she is." She turned to Tyler. "Tyler, have you talked to your mom?"

"I left her a message telling her I was here." He told her.

"You need to call her."

"What is it?"

"It's your dad." Amy felt Rob squeeze her hand. She looked up at him, knowing this news wasn't going to be good.

At home, Margret went to check in on Jeremy. She noticed him holding something before putting it away. "Hey."

"Oh, hey." He seemed a little upset, like he wanted her gone. It didn't take long for her to realize it.

"She was one of them, wasn't she?" Margret asked. Jeremy turned around and faced his twin sister.

"Yeah, she was. But she wasn't like them…"

"It's cool. She seemed really nice." Margret said.

Jeremy turned. "What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked. Margret turned and jumped back in surprise. Damon was there.

"Anna's dead."

"I figured that once they took her away."

"I know you cared about her." Damon told him.

"Yeah I did." Jeremy said. Margret managed to put her hand on her brother's shoulder.

"I saw her get killed. I was watching and all I could think about was… I wanted to help her but I couldn't." Damon told him. Margret looked at him.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Jeremy asked.

"I took away your suffering once before, I can do it again but it's your choice."

"Look, I know you think you took it away but it's still there." Jeremy told him. "Even if I can't remember why I still feel empty, alone and making me forget won't fix it. It won't fix what's really wrong."

"Wait, you made him forget about the Vicki incident?" Margret asked. Damon nodded.

"Anna said that don't have to feel pain, that they could turn it off if they shut out their humanity." Jeremy said.

"It's very true." Damon told him.

"Is it easier that way?"

"Is what easier?"

"Life."

"Life sucks either way Jeremy but at least if you're a vampire you don't have to feel bad about it if you don't want to."

"Is that what you did?" Jeremy asked.

"I did it for a very long time and life was a lot easier." Damon told him. He left the room.

"Hey, I may not know exactly what went down with Vicki, but I know you'll be able to move past this, Jer." Margret said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm going to be here to help." Margret told him. "It's what siblings do." She was surprised when Jeremy embraced her.

"Thanks, Margret."

"Anytime." Margret left the room a few minutes later. She headed downstairs and found Damon. "Hey."

"I thought you'd be back upstairs."

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Margret told him. "I saw how Stefan was effected earlier, and after the building fire…"

"I'm fine, really." Damon told her. "I'm guessing you know about our little secret."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it." Margret said. "Though it really does explain a lot about you two."

"If your sister asks, tell her I that I never came here."

"No problem."

"You know, you're okay, kid." He left the house. Margret headed back upstairs to her room. All she knew right now was that things could not get any weirder in her life.


	21. The Return

Margret was writing, when she heard something downstairs. She heard Elena enter the house. She headed downstairs, wondering what the noise she heard was. By the time she got downstairs, she found John on the floor, bleeding. "Oh my God!"

"It's okay. I've called an ambulance." She turned and saw Elena behind her. "But I don't know if Jeremy's okay."

A few minutes later, Margret was in Jeremy's room, telling him what she saw. "Uncle John was on the floor. I don't know what happened, but he's headed to the hospital. So, what happened to you? Did someone try anything?"

"I was trying to turn myself." Jeremy told her. It didn't take Margret long to realize what he meant. Just then, Elena came back, with Stefan behind her.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He said that Anna gave him her blood and then he took these pills and now… I mean he looks fine but so do you. I just... I don't know." Elena told him. Stefan went over to Jeremy and Margret got up so he could look at him.

"Look at me."

"I'm fine okay? I feel exactly the same." Jeremy told them.

"I can't believe this." Margret said.

"Should I call a paramedic?" Elena asked. "What should I do?"

"No, he's fine." Stefan told them.

"You mean I'm _not_ a vampire? Damn it!"

"Don't say that, Jeremy! Jer, why do you want that?"

"Did you hear about Anna, what happened to her tonight? She's dead." Jeremy told her.

"Look, I know it's hard on you, but turning or killing yourself is not going to bring her back, Jeremy." Margret pointed out.

"Jeremy, come here, sit down." He sat down on the bed. "I am very sorry about Anna but it's very important that you listen to me right now. Every passing moment, Anna's blood is leaving your system. If you try to kill yourself right now, you could _really_ die." Stefan explained. Jeremy turned away from him. "Hey!" He slapped him. "Do you understand me?"

"Stefan..." Margret just looked at the group.

"Yeah, I understand."

"Good."

"What about the pills that he took?" Elena asked.

"He didn't take enough to die so Anna's blood actually healed him." Stefan told her.

An officer entered the doorway. "Miss Gilbert?"

"I'll be right there." Elena said.

"You need to be at the hospital." Stefan told her.

"But..."

"No, no, no, I'll stay here with Jeremy."

"No, I don't need a babysitter." Jeremy protested.

"Yes, you do." Elena said.

"I'll stay with them." Margret told her. "Amy's at the hospital, too, but I don't think I can face her right now."

At the hospital, Matt and Amy were in the waiting room. Rob had left to drop Tyler off at home and check on Melody. Bonnie walked over to them. "How is Caroline?"

"She's not good Bon." Matt said.

"What happened?"

"We were driving and Tyler heard this noise and he got…"

"A noise?" Bonnie asked.

"He got this migraine or something and he lost control of the car and ... I thought Caroline was fine and then ... and then she wasn't so ..." Matt explained.

"So that's why you guys ran into a brick wall?" Amy asked.

"Well, we tried to take over the wheel, but it all happened so fast." Matt told her. "I honestly don't know what happened to your cousin back there, but…"

"I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't get through this, Matt." Amy told him. He held her.

"Neither do I." Bonnie looked at them, feeling guilty about what happened.

Back up in Jeremy's Room, Margret was looking at her phone. Amy told her about Caroline. "Hey, it's Margie. Let us know about her condition as soon as you can, okay?" She hung up as Stefan returned to the room.

"So, what's going on with Uncle John?" Jeremy asked.

"I'd almost feel bad for him if he weren't a complete jerk." Margret said. "Though he is still family."

"He's complicated, that's for sure." Stefan said. He turned to Jeremy. "Jeremy, why do you want to be a vampire?"

"When I heard Anna was dead, it…it was too much." Jeremy explained. "I just wanted to turn it off, you know? Shut out everything. And Damon said I could."

"Damon's right, you know. You can turn it off." Stefan told them. "You can turn off the hurt, feel better. But it doesn't last, Jeremy. Sooner or later, you'll have to turn it back on."

"Why would you guys turn off your emotions in the first place?" Margret asked.

"When you're a vampire, all your feelings and emotions are heightened." He told her. "So when we're hurt or angry…"

"You feel it more intensely." Margret finished.

"If you could be human again, would you?" Jeremy asked.

"Of course I would." Stefan said. "I hate what I am. It's impossible not to." The twins looked at him.

"Well, if it helps, I don't hate you." Margret told him. "In fact, I think I kinda understand why Elena kept this from us."

A few hours later, Margret was in her room. She glanced down at her crystal beads, then turned to the bracelet she'd kept on since the school year started. She heard the door open, wondering if Jenna had forgotten something.

A few minutes later, Elena headed upstairs and went into the hallway. "Jeremy? Margret? Are you guys okay?" They both came out of their rooms.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Jeremy asked.

"Did something happen?" Margret asked her. "Is Caroline…"

"No, she's okay." Elena told her. "Did either of you see me earlier?" The twins looked at each other.

"Not since before you left for the hospital." Margret said.

"Is something going on?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah. Katherine's back." Elena said.

"Who's Katherine?" Jeremy asked.

"Wait, you mean the girl that those two dated?" Margret asked. "Are you saying she's…"

"She's the one who turned them." Elena explained. "Back in the late eighteen hundreds. She somehow escaped the tomb and left town until now. And we're practically identical."

"How's that even possible?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, but I saw her picture once. We look exactly the same." Elena told them.

"So she's kinda like your evil vampire twin or something?" Margret asked.

"That's a good way to think of it." Elena said. "Just be careful, you two. With her back in town and access to our house, we could all be in trouble."

"We'll keep an eye out." Jeremy said.

"Okay." Elena said. "I need to get back to the guys. We've got to figure out what she's doing here." She headed back downstairs.

The next day, Amy, Rob, Matt and Bonnie met up at the hospital. "You've been here all night?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah, with the sheriff and Amy." Matt told her.

"No one else?"

"I was here for a few hours, but then I had to drop Tyler off and tell Melody what was going on." Rob told them.

"Stefan's brother Damon stopped by late last night." Matt added.

"How is Caroline today?" Bonnie asked.

"I haven't gone in yet." Amy told her.

"See for yourself." They all headed into Caroline's room. They found her awake and looking like she was back to normal.

"Jersey Shore's on." Bonnie went over and hugged her. "Careful, still a little sore."

"Sorry."

"It's okay but they say I'm healing very quick." Amy hugged her next.

"I'm glad to see you're okay."

"My mom said you stayed here with her all night. You shouldn't worry about me so much."

"You might be a pain in the butt, but you're my cousin."

"Okay, my turn." Matt leaned down and kissed Caroline. Rob was smiling, glad that Caroline was okay. Then they noticed Bonnie was crying.

"Why are you crying?" Caroline asked her.

"I'm just happy you're okay."

"Oh, I love you guys!"

"We love you, too, Care." Amy said. She, Bonnie, Matt and Caroline ended up in a slightly awkward group hug. Amy felt Rob slip his hand into hers. She looked at him and smiled.

Margret was at home, getting ready for the funeral, when Melody called. "Hey, I know we're running a little late. I'll meet you guys there, okay?"

Meanwhile, the rest of the group was hanging out. "She's going to be a little late." Melody told the guys. "Anyway, Mrs. Lockwood needs me in the living room."

"Okay."

"Man, I almost can't believe…" Rob began. Then he noticed a figure enter over Alex's shoulder. "What is he doing here?" Alex looked, too, and saw some guy talking with Mrs. Lockwood.

"Who is he?"

"That's Tyler's uncle, Mason." Rob said. "I thought he was back in Florida."

"Maybe he came to support the family, you know, with the Mayor gone and all." Alex said.

"You okay, man?" Rob asked.

"Well, Margie kinda blew me off last night." Alex said.

"Knowing her, she probably had some kinda family emergency of her own to deal with." Rob said.

"Yeah, but everything seemed fine." Alex pointed out.

"Family emergency or not, she still could've shown up at the hospital. I know her sister stopped by." Amy said.

"Well, it's hard to deal with two family problems at the same time, Amy. I spent half the night telling Melody that Caroline would be fine." Rob explained. "She's been worried, too."

Melody was walking by the hallway, when she heard what sounded like a struggle. Amy found her in the hallway. "Hey, I thought…"

"Shh, quiet." Melody said. "Do you hear that?" Suddenly, the doors in front of them opened. They jumped back in surprise. A few minutes later, they walked in and found Bonnie. She seemed shaken about something. Amy looked into the hall, but didn't see anyone.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Melody asked.

"Just a little misunderstanding." Bonnie told her. "You guys haven't seen Elena, have you?"

"No, they haven't shown up yet." Amy said.

"Okay." Bonnie said. She picked up a pair of bracelets out of her purse. They had vervain in them. "Put these on and don't take them off, okay? I can't really explain, but it'll hopefully keep you safe." She left the room kinda fast.

"Okay…that was weird." Amy said.

"I wonder why she was asking about her." Melody said.

In the hallway, Matt and Alex were walking by when they saw Stefan with Elena. "Hey, guys." Matt said.

"Hey, Matt." Elena said. "I heard that Caroline is doing much better. Her recovery was practically miraculous, you must be so relieved."

"I am."

"We all are." Alex pointed out. "Poor Amy was almost a wreck."

"Thanks, Elena." Matt said. They both left. Alex noticed something off then.

"Did she seem a little…off to you or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, something felt weird about her. At least, that's the feeling I got." Alex told him.

Margret walked into the mansion with her family. She was surprised by how crowded it was. "Looks like the whole town has turned out." Jenna said, echoing her thoughts.

"Yeah. Well he is ... he was the mayor." Elena corrected herself.

"Why are they doing this for the funeral?" Jeremy asked.

"That's what people do. The Lockwood's were here for us when we went through this." Jenna pointed out. "It'll be quick; you drop off the food and pay respects and go."

"In and out? It sounds like a plan."

"Could you try showing a little respect, Jer?" Margret asked. "I know you don't like Tyler. Heck, I don't even like Tyler. But he's probably miserable right now, after all, he's lost his father, you know."

"Sometimes I hate when you're right." He told her.

"You guys go ahead, I'll be right there okay?" Elena told them. Margret walked off with the rest of her family.

"Margret!" She turned around.

"Guys." She walked over to them. "Sorry I couldn't make it last night. How is she?"

"She's doing a lot better." Amy told her. "It's strange, but I'm just glad she's okay."

"Speaking of strange, Bonnie was kinda weird earlier." Melody said. "She told us to wear these so we'd be safe." She held up the bracelet. Margret recognized the pattern.

"She's probably right. She helped me make these." Margret told them. "Those crystals have protective properties."

"She also seemed pretty shaken about something. Like she got into a fight or whatever." Amy said.

"I should go find the others." Margret said. She ran down the hall.

"Okay, something's really weird about this." Amy said.

"Just let it go this time, Amy." Melody said.

Jeremy headed into a room. He saw Tyler and Rob inside. "Sorry, I was just looking for the..."

"Bathroom is down the hall." Tyler told him. Rob knew he was drunk by the way he said it.

"Hey look...I'm sorry about your dad." Jeremy told him, sitting with the guys.

"Today has been a big day as sorry from people who don't really give a crap."

"That is so not true, man." Rob said. "The entire football team, the basketball team, and my friends, have been worried about you. Ever since last night."

"Can we not talk about it right now?"

"No problem." Rob said.

"I remember when my dad died, I had a house full of strangers telling me how a great guy he was." Jeremy said. "Anyway, I know how hard all this is."

"The difference is in your case it was true. My dad was a dick." Tyler pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah he was."

"Can't argue with that." Rob added.

"I found this on his desk." Tyler said, handing a flask to Jeremy. Rob looked at them. "He won't mind, he's dead."

"Yeah, you know what, sure." Just then, Mason Lockwood walked in.

"Hey, what's going on here Tyler?" He asked.

"Nothing, nothing."

"You don't have somewhere else to be?" Mason asked Jeremy. He handed him the flask and left.

"Uh, thanks. I think." Rob said. "That guy had a bit of a substance issue a few months ago."

"What do they teach you kids these days?"

"Apparently, nothing important." Rob told him. "Anyway, I'm going to let you two talk while I find out where my sister went. I'll see you later." He left the room.

Margret was outside. She looked around. A good distance away, she saw what looked like a figure leaning over on the ground. She knew that couldn't be good and ran over to help the person. When she got closer, she realized it was Stefan. She heard her phone vibrating. She looked at it and saw it was Elena.

"Hey, where are you?"

"In the garden. Stefan's hurt." Margret told her.

A few minutes later, Elena was sitting on a bench with him, cleaning the wound. Margret sat on the bench next to them. "You gonna be okay?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, it'll heal." He told her.

"That's not what I meant."

"I was trying to figure her out. I was playing along and let her get to me."

"I might not be an expert on this stuff, but maybe you guys should be more careful around Katherine." Margret suggested.

"She's really hard to figure out at times. I think we should all be more careful around her." Stefan said. Damon ran over to the group.

"I tried to track her but she's gone. Ouch, cover up Fabio. You have a crazy ex on the loose."

"Yeah, crazy enough that Bonnie nearly got killed." Margret said. "I'm outta here. There is way too much drama around here." She got up and left.

Inside, she ran into Alex, literally. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He told her. "Anyway, what was up with you last night?"

"It's too hard to explain right now." Margret said. "Long story short, Jeremy tried to kill himself."

"Why would he do something so stupid?"

"Cause his girlfriend died suddenly." Margret explained. "We didn't know about it until after we got home."

"It must be kind of rough for you."

"You have no idea." Margret told him. "I better go find Jenna." As she made her way through the hall, she ran into Elena. "Have you seen Aunt Jenna anywhere?"

"I think I saw her in the living room." Elena told her.

"Thanks, Elena." Margret walked away.

At home, Jeremy and Margret headed upstairs to find John getting ready to leave. "What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm packing, leaving." He told them.

"So you figured you'd kill all you evil vampires and then you leave town?" Jeremy asked.

"Not all but enough. For now." Margret looked at him, angrily. "Can you tell Elena I say goodbye?"

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Jeremy asked.

"Seriously." Margret said. "Let's get out of here, Jer."

"You know, I was taught to hate them, the vampires. That's what I know, that's what you father knew."

"Don't talk about our father." Margret said. "He wouldn't have been the complete jerk that you are."

"He would have seen things differently." Jeremy added.

"No, he may have done things differently but there's no other way to see it."

"Then maybe you should try and see if there's any humanity in them before you kill the ones trying to protect this town." Margret told him. She started to leave, but then Jeremy's question got her attention.

"That ring on your finger, the one's that supposed to protect you, that was my father's right?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't it protect him, why is he still dead?" Jeremy asked.

"What happened to your parents wasn't supernatural, it was an accident." John told them. "There's nothing that can save us from that."

"So, these rings prevent you from being killed by a supernatural?" Margret asked.

"Yes." Jeremy told her. "Mr. Saltzman has one, too."

"So that's why Elena asked him to help last night."

"I wonder what our dad would think of all this." Jeremy said.

"He would think that you're just too young. You're still finding yourself but you are a Gilbert and you've been exposed to this town's darkest secrets and with that comes responsibility." John said.

"I don't believe in that family legacy stuff." Jeremy told him.

"Sooner or later you'll have to."

"I think he has every right to decide if he wants to get involved or not." Margret said. "For now, I'm staying out of it." She went into her room.

Later that night, Margret was asleep, when she suddenly heard Elena scream. She headed into Elena's room as fast as she could. "What happ…" She noticed her twin brother on the ground. "Oh, God! Jeremy!" She ran over to him and checked his wrist. He had no pulse.

"He's got the ring on." Elena managed to get out. She was still really upset. Margret looked at Jeremy's hand and saw that she was wearing the same ring John had.

"Uncle John must've given it to him." She looked at her sister with concern. "How did this happen?"

"Damon." Elena told her. She was still holding Jeremy.

"He did this?" Margret suddenly got a feeling they weren't alone in there. "Who's there?" She called into the darkness.

"It's just me. Sorry if I scared you."

"It's going to take some getting used to." Margret said.

"How long before he wakes up?" Margret asked after a few minutes of silence. She was sitting on Elena's bed.

"He saw the ring that's why he did it, he knew."

"He didn't see the ring." Elena said.

"Guys, we can debate whether he saw it or not, but it doesn't excuse the fact that he did it." Margret pointed out.

"It's Katherine. She got on his skin, she undid everything that was good about him." Stefan told them.

"There's nothing good about him. Stefan, not anymore. He just decided what he wants. He just don't want to feel, he wants to be hated, it's just easier that way." Elena said. "He got his wish. I hate him, Stefan."

"I know."

"I knew there was a reason I never liked that guy." Margret said. Before she could continue, she heard Jeremy gasp and looked at him. He'd woken up.

"Stefan, is he okay?" Elena asked.

"He's okay."

"He _killed_ me!" Jeremy gasped, surprised that it happened. "_Damon_ killed me!"

"Oh god." Elena held him even tighter. Margret came over and joined them.

"Okay, girls, can't breathe!"

"Sorry!" They both let go of him.

"You had me scared until I saw you were wearing Uncle John's ring."

"Good thing I had it." Jeremy said.

"You two should probably be more careful." Elena told them. "I have a feeling that this is only the beginning."


	22. Brave New World

At school, everyone was setting up for the carnival. Melody tried to move a box of items, but it was too heavy for her. "Need a hand, sis?" She turned around and Rob helped her carry it.

"Thanks. You know, I'm surprised you're helping. I thought you'd be with Amy."

"Nah, Amy decided she needed some time alone. That's why she's sitting this one out." Rob told her as they walked down the hall.

"That's weird. She usually loves the school fair."

"Well, considering all that's happened lately, not to mention Caroline's recovery, I think she needs a little break." Rob said.

"You're not planning on dumping her, are you?"

"Of course not. That would be so lame." Rob said. "Besides, she's pretty awesome."

"You really are in love with her, aren't you?" Melody asked.

"Just don't tell anyone."

"You're secret's safe with me, brother." Melody said.

"God, how do they keep up with all this?" Alex asked. Melody and Rob set the box down and looked around.

"Alex? Where are you?"

"Right here." They heard someone say. They found him under the tent that hadn't been set up yet.

"What are you doing under there?" Melody asked as they helped get him out.

"I was helping the guys set up, when this thing collapsed on me." Alex said.

"Alex..." They turned around and found Bonnie. "Why don't you take a break? I'll find the guys who were on tent duty."

"Hey." Melody said. "You know, we could use a hand putting up the prizes."

"Actually, there's something else I have to do." Alex said. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" He walked off.

"What's up with him?"

"He's probably just tired." Rob told her.

"Anyway, have you seen Margie anywhere?"

"I think she was helping her twin with something." Rob said.

Inside, Margret was with Jeremy and Stefan. He handed Jeremy something. "It's the same as the bracelet Elena gave you."

"It protects me from compulsion." Jeremy said.

"Vervain is toxic to vampires." Stefan explained.

"Like poison?"

"Yeah, it's very poisonous. It keeps them out of your head."

"So, you were the one who put it in this bracelet, weren't you?" Margret asked, holding up her wrist. "I never take it off."

"Yeah. I wanted to make sure you and your sister would be safe in case he tried anything."

"But why vervain?" Jeremy asked.

"Don't know, certain natural herbs and roots and other elements are just harmful to vampires."

"Like a stake to the heart?"

"Right but it has to be wood."

"And fire, right?" Margret asked. "It's just as dangerous to you guys as it is to us humans." She remembered Uncle John tried to use it to kill all the vampires, including Damon.

"Right."

"You're pretty confident in yourself telling me all the different ways I could kill you." Jeremy said.

"Jeremy, if I thought you wanted to kill me we will be having a much different conversation." Stefan told him.

"Yeah, Damon is the one that deserves it."

"I want you to forget about Damon, all right? He's a hundred times stronger than you and right now he's not stable. You got to try to move forward." Stefan said.

"I was killed by a vampire and brought back by a magic ring. How do you move forward from that?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, you weren't the one who found you dead in our sister's room." Margret said. "Look, I'm not too happy with him right now either, but we can't stop living just cause of the supernatural. No offense, Stef."

"None taken." Elena walked over to the group then. "Hello, Elena."

"Hey, do you…" Elena began.

"Yeah, yeah, I set up the golden fish toss all through hundred golden fish." Jeremy told her. "It's gonna be epic!" He left the group then. Elena seemed kind of stunned.

"He's gonna be alright, he's just been through a little bit of a whole deal." Stefan told them.

"Yeah, no kidding." Margret said. "I'll talk with him."

"How are you handling all this?" Elena asked.

"It's a little weird, but I'm adjusting." Margret said. "I'll see you later." She took off after Jeremy.

"Hey!" Jeremy turned around and saw Margret head over. "You know, this isn't easy for us, either, Jer. I want to forget about what happened as much as you do."

"Well, not much we can do about it, unless you wanna ask them to erase our memories." Jeremy said.

"Look, can we just have get through a normal night without having to deal with this?" Margret asked him. "I know it's hard, but if we don't at least try to move past this, then what is the point of us setting this thing up?"

"I'll see you later." Jeremy left, leaving her completely stunned.

"Hey, Margie." She turned around. Alex was leaning against the lockers.

"Hi, Alex. What's up?" He walked over to her.

"Are you going to this school fair tonight?"

"I don't see why I wouldn't." Margret said. "Considering all the trouble we've been through helping the juniors set it up. Besides, Amy could use some cheering up."

"She still concerned about Care?"

"I don't think she likes the idea of her in the hospital." Margret said. "I don't blame her."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with me." Alex said. Margret looked at him and realized he was nervous.

"Wait, are you asking me out?"

"No. Yes. Well, kind of."

"I'm in." Margret said. "I'll meet you outside tonight. Okay?"

"Okay." Alex told her. "See you there." He walked away. Margret found herself watching him go.

"Margret?" She turned around. "We need help setting up the prize booth."

"I'll be right there, Rob."

Meanwhile, Amy and Matt were at the hospital. Amy was headed to Care's room. "Hey, you didn't have to drive me here."

"Well, you're not the only one who's visiting her." Matt pointed out. "Besides, it seems like she could use the company."

They arrived at Caroline's room. Amy went in first. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"A little tired, but I'm okay, I think." Caroline told her. "How'd you get here, anyway? My mom's at work all day."

"You're boyfriend offered a ride." Amy told her. A few seconds later, Matt walked in, carrying a tray of hospital food.

"Your mom said you're not eating."

"It's gross."

"It's the hospital food, it's supposed to be gross."

"No kidding. I came in here when I broke my leg that one time." Amy said. "And they say that stuff's supposed to make people feel better?" She shuddered. Caroline laughed.

"She also said you're getting released tomorrow morning." Matt told her.

"Morning? I need to get out tonight." Caroline told them. She knew she'd burn to a crisp if she got out in the sunlight. For some reason she didn't understand, she was becoming a vampire.

"No, the carnival is going to happen without you Caroline. I know it's hard for your neurotic control freak personality to process but Bonnie and Elena have it."

"I'm not neurotic." Caroline said.

"Yeah, you are, but it's cute so..." Matt began.

"Hey, would you back off?" Amy said. "My cousin might be a little high strung, but she's no neurotic."

"Look, it's not about the carnival okay? It's just that this place is just really depressing." Caroline told them.

"It's because you're sitting in the dark." Matt said. He started to open the curtains.

"No, don't!" Caroline protested. Matt opened the curtains, but she pressed herself against the opposite wall of the room to keep the light off her.

"What the hell?"

"Just close it please."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Close it!" Matt shut the curtains instantly.

"I'll just come back later okay?" He left the room.

"Uh, Care, did the nurses give you anything?" Amy asked.

"Amy, I'm not high. While I may be feeling better, it's like something else is going on with me that I can't exactly explain."

"Okay, I'll see if I can do something about getting you out of here early." Amy said. "Trust me, I hate this place as much as you do." She left the room.

"You okay?" Matt asked as she entered the hallway.

"That was weird, even for Caroline." Amy said. "Let's just go."

Margret was at home, trying to figure out to wear. She was having trouble deciding which jacket would go with the neon green shirt and jeans she was wearing. She looked at her options as she had them on the bed. "Go with the denim one." She heard a voice say. "Trust me, it goes with everything."

She turned around and saw Damon sitting by her window. "How long have you been there?" She asked. Then another thought occurred. "Have you been watching me the whole time?"

"No. Jeez, I have some decency, you know."

"Yeah, decent enough to kill my twin brother." Margret said.

"I see you're still angry about that."

"He's family. What do you expect?" Margret asked, running her hairbrush through her hair one last time.

"I get it, Margie. If it makes you feel any better, I'm glad he isn't dead." Damon told her.

"I'm still trying to get used to this vampire thing. I mean, I've believed in spirits and witches, but this is all still new to me." Margret said.

"I heard you had a date."

"It's nothing, really." Margret told him. "He's just a really close friend of mine. We've known each other forever." She realized what she said. "I mean…"

"I get it. He sounds like a great person."

"It's like, since our parents died, he and my closest friends are the only ones who've understood me." Margret said. The doorbell rang then. She was confused, since she thought she'd be meeting Alex there. She turned around to find Damon gone.

She walked over to her bed and picked up her white jacket and put it on. As she headed out, she looked in the mirror and noticed that the colors clashed. She took it off, then looked at the denim jacket.

At the fair, the rest of the group was already waiting. "Anyone seen Amy?" Melody asked.

"I think she's staying with Sheriff Forbes." Rob explained. "She said Care was acting weird at the hospital and wanted to make sure she got home safe."

"Weird how? Weird for regular people or weird for Caroline?" Alex asked.

"She was just really nervous, didn't want to be around sunlight." Rob explained.

"Well, she is still recovering. Maybe the light hurts her eyes or something." Melody said.

"You'd make a good doctor someday." Alex said.

"Thanks, but you know music's my passion." Melody said.

"You know, I think they set up a Rock Band thing around here somewhere." Rob said. "There's no way you can beat me this time."

"Bring it on, big bro." Melody said. They left the area.

"Hey." Alex turned around. Margret had arrived.

"You look great, Margret."

"Thanks." Margret said. "You wanna check out the ring toss?"

"Sounds good to me." They left.

A few minutes later, Melody had once again proven she could beat her brother at a music game. "How did you do that? It was on the advanced setting!"

"Well, I've had practice writing and playing music the past sixteen years of my life." Melody pointed out. "Once in a while, though, I like to practice to be sure I've still got my edge."

"Well, I promised I'd meet Tyler by the arm wrestling area. Wanna come?"

"And deal with a bunch of guys who will probably just hit on me with lame arm puns? No thank you." Melody said.

"Suit yourself."

"Hey." Melody turned around and saw a girl from one of her classes. "Do you really play your own music?"

"Yeah, It took a while to get good at it, too." Melody said.

"Would you mind playing something?"

"Well, I left my instruments at home." Melody said. "Maybe another time."

"My friend's got a guitar." The girl said.

"Are you sure that's okay with her? I wouldn't want to…"

"It's no big deal. I'll be right back." Melody watched her leave, wondering how she got stuck in this situation.

"I had no idea you could throw like that." Margret said as she and Alex walked into the hallway.

"It takes practice. Besides, all those hours playing sports paid off."

"You were always good at it." Margret trailed off when she saw her brother and Damon struggling. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

By the time she got over to them, Jeremy had left. "What are you doing? Are you insane?"

"He threatened to out us."

"To be fair, you did kill him." Margret pointed out. "He's pretty angry about it. Now, I'm all for keeping secrets, but you two are going to have to work this out without killing each other. Again." She added. "What the heck are you doing here, anyway?"

"I'm kinda on a case." He explained. "I better go now." He left. She watched him, then headed back to where she left Alex.

At the arm wrestling tent, Rob noticed Tyler and Mason. "Excuse me." Someone bumped into him by accident. He turned around and noticed Stefan.

"Hey. I didn't know you were into this."

"I'm not, really. What about you?"

"I just think it's weird that Mason's back in town. The guy's been gone for five years." Rob told him. "Hasn't dropped in since we were twelve."

"Really? What else do you know?" He turned around and saw that Damon had shown up.

"Other than the fact that he's pretty much been travelling near the coast and surfing, not much." Rob told them. "I just get the impression he's not just here to help his family get over their loss."

"That's the feeling I was getting, too." Damon said.

"And I think you're both being paranoid." Stefan told them.

"Maybe." Rob said. "Though even with my girlfriend being worried about her cousin, it doesn't change how weird it is that he shows up completely out of the blue five years later."

"Any volunteers?" Mason asked.

"He'll do it." Damon pushed Stefan forward. Stefan gave him a what-the-heck-are-you-doing look.

"Go on, man." Rob told him. Everyone watched the guys arm wrestle. Stefan lost. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"You didn't put in any effort at all." Damon said.

"Yeah, actually, I did."

"Come with me." Rob watched as they left the tent, wondering what the heck that was about. A few minutes later, he left the tent and saw Caroline with Matt. She ended up running away from him.

"Whoa. What happened here?" Rob asked.

"I have no idea." Matt said. "We were talking, then she pushed me away."

"Was that Caroline?" Melody asked.

"Yeah. Something is up with her."

Alex and Margret were heading over to the others. "I cannot believe you almost didn't get on the ferris wheel." Alex said.

"I've never liked heights."

"Really? You didn't seem acrophobic back there."

"Probably because I was too busy looking at the night sky. Plus, you were holding me the whole time." She blushed, remembering the way he had his arm around her shoulders.

"You know, I wouldn't mind going back there again." Alex said.

"Can we take a raincheck on that?" Margret asked. "Looks like something serious is going on." She'd noticed the others talking with Matt.

"She's obviously pissed at me for something but for what, no clue."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

"She freaked out and she's been like that all day. Cool one minute and crazy and neurotic next."

"She almost died, it's must be messing with her head. Plus, she's Caroline." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I'm used to the insecurity and all that. This is who she is, love it or hate it but this seemed I don't know...different. I can't explain it."

"Maybe the experience changed her." Margret said. She had a feeling she knew what was happening.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I've gotta find Care!" Margret told him. Bonnie ran after her.

Margret noticed Caroline with Damon. She got there the same time as Stefan and Elena. "Are you insane?" She asked. "Caroline's our friend and vamp or human, you can't hurt her."

"Yeah, cause he respected me as a human." Caroline pointed out.

"We have to get her inside." Elena said.

"It's okay Caroline, come with me." Stefan took her shoulders.

"Whatever happens, it's on you." Damon said. At that moment, Bonnie finally caught up to them.

"Caroline?" Bonnie asked. "Oh, no. It can't be." She touched her hand.

"Bonnie?"

"It's okay." Margret told Bonnie. "She's just really scared right now. She never meant to hurt anyone."

"I understand that."

"It's still Caroline, you know." Margret said. "I know it's weird, but she's still herself, even though she's been through this."

"How could this have happened?" Bonnie asked.

"Katherine." Elena said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Margret headed back over to Alex. "Hey."

"How's Caroline?"

"She's okay, she's just in shock. Stefan's with her." Margret told him.

"Good to know."

"I think I'm going to head home now." Margret said. "If you need a ride…"

"Sure." Alex said.

After she got home, she was with Elena. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just wish things were normal sometimes, you know?"

"I know." Margret said. "But no matter what happens, we can get through it." Elena hugged her.

"I believe that too, Margie." She told her. "So, how'd it go with Alex?"

"How did you find out about that?"


	23. Bad Moon Rising

At home, Margret was upstairs in her room. She was on the phone with Amy. "So, you're coming to the party today, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Margret told her. "Besides, we could use it. How's Caroline?"

"I've been trying to reach her, but she hasn't been answering. Rob said Matt's getting concerned about her."

"She's fine, Amy. She's just having a hard time dealing with getting back to normal." Margret said. She was running out of ideas.

"So, you'll meet us there?"

"Of course I will." She hung up and headed downstairs, where Alaric and Jenna were talking.

"Hey, Margret."

"Hey, I heard about you're trip." Margret said. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks, but I think it'll take more than luck to deal with Damon." Elena said.

"Stefan not going with you guys?"

"He's got to help Caroline with…you know." Elena said, knowing Jenna was in earshot.

"Oh, right. Well, at least you've got Mr. Saltzman helping you out."

"Yeah, thank goodness." Elena said. "I'll see you later."

"Okay." Jenna came back into the room then.

"Well, looks like everyone's busy." Jenna said.

"Hey." Margret said. "I think you should give him a chance. Sure, things might be weird, but you like him."

"Wow. You sound so grown-up."

"I'm only sixteen." Margret said. "Anyway, I'm meeting the others at the swimming hole later."

"Hope you have fun."

A few hours later, the group was at the swimming hole. "This is so cool." Amy said.

"Is that Matt over there?" Margret asked.

"Yeah, he's still concerned about Care."

"So am I. it's not like her to miss an awesome party." Amy said.

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Margret said, spotting Caroline and Stefan at the edge of the woods.

"Hey, heads up, guys. We've gotta clear outta here by nightfall." Tyler announced.

"I'll bet it has something to do with Mason again." Rob said.

"You've gotta stop with the Uncle Mason conspiracy. There's nothing that the guy's hiding." Amy said.

"I know. It's just weird."

"Speaking of weird…" Margret said. She saw Caroline talking to a girl, looking directly at her. Then she realized what she did as the girl left. She headed over to her as Matt passed by.

"I cannot believe this." Matt said. "After days of no show, she suddenly shows up and becomes jealous."

"Well, that girl is kinda a flirt, man." Rob told him.

"I know, but Care's the only person I have feelings for." Matt said.

"She's been through a lot, man. Maybe you should give her a little space." Rob said.

"Well, she's been a little off lately, but that's partly cause of the incident." Amy pointed out.

Margret headed over to where Caroline and Stefan were talking. "Caroline, nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons."

"He's right, you know." Margret said. "I know you're jealous, but you can't just go around compelling everyone you hate."

"Great, like it's been going well already." Caroline said sarcastically.

"I told you this wasn't going to be easy." Stefan pointed out.

"Well, I may has well have stayed dead. My entire personality is killing me." Caroline told him.

"Yeah, and if you had, we'd all be devastated right now." Margret pointed out. "I know Amy would be."

"Hey, Care." Amy walked over to them. "I almost thought you wouldn't make it."

"Please, miss out on a party like this?" Caroline said.

"Come on, some of the girls from cheerleading are here and wanted to welcome you back." Amy said. Caroline looked at Stefan.

"Go on. You'll be fine." Caroline let Amy lead her over to where her friends were.

"So, I take it training's going well." Margret said.

"She's still struggling a little, but she's getting better." Stefan told her.

"You know what I don't get?" Margret said. "Amy said she practically flew into the shadows when they opened her window at the hospital, but it doesn't seem to effect her now."

"It's because she has one of these rings." He showed her the ring he was wearing.

"Do they have magic properties like the ones in our family?" Margret asked.

"Yeah, they prevent us from burning in the sun."

"That explains it. I was wondering about that."

"So how are things with Amy?" Matt asked.

"Well, they're great." Rob told him. "I will admit that watching her concern over her cousin kinda had me worried. She almost lost it."

"You two are good together." Matt said. "Sometimes I wish my relationship with Care was more like you guys."

"Well, she's probably still got some shock left. It's probably just one of those temporary bumps, you know?" Rob said. "I'm sure you guys will work it out."

"I think Matt hates me." Caroline said.

"Are you kidding? He was probably more worried about you than me and Aunt Liz combined." Amy said.

"Yeah, and look how I repay him."

"Hey, it isn't about owing him, Care." Margret said. "He loves you for you."

"She's right." Amy told her. "Besides, that other girl didn't really have the right to flirt with him anyway."

"Actually, from what I saw, he was turning her down." Margret said. "At least, before you two talked it out."

"Yeah. I guess it's silly that I'm jealous. I know he'd never hurt me like that." Caroline said.

"Hey, we all get a little insecure sometimes." Amy pointed out. "I was the same until Rob told me that he loves me."

"You two are dating?" Caroline asked.

"I know it's weird, but I really like him. He's a great friend and he's had my back for a while now, so we figured, why not? Even if it doesn't work out, we'll always have each other." Amy said.

"Wow. You sound so sure." Caroline said.

"You know, you're a lot stronger than you believe you are, Care." Margret said. "You'll get through this. I know it."

"You really think so?"

"I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't." Margret said. "You and Matt will be able to work things out, I'm sure."

"You know, it's kinda weird taking advice from my best friend's sister." Caroline said.

"True, but we're all friends here." Margret said.

"Hey, Care!" One of the girls called.

"Be with you in a minute." Caroline said. "Sorry, guys. You know how the cheerleaders get."

"Go for it." Amy said. Caroline left them. "She seems a little perkier lately."

"Maybe she just realized she's great the way she is." Margret told her. "Anyway, how are you doing with all this?"

"I'm just a little concerned. I wonder if she's been taking anything that they gave her, because I heard the meds can really mess someone up." Amy said.

"She's fine, Amy. She seems like herself to me." Margret pointed out. "Anyway, I think everything will be okay. She just needs a little time to re-adjust to things."

"You're right, Margie."

"So how are things with Rob, anyway?"

"They're amazing." Amy said. "He's been really supportive through everything. I think I might be falling for him."

"Amy, that's great." Margret embraced her friend.

"Yeah, enough about me. I heard about you and Alex going out the other night."

"It was just a school fair." Margret said.

"True, but you two did go on the Ferris Wheel, right?" Amy pointed out. "I want to know everything."

"Amy...nothing happened. We wound up clinging to each other at the top because we were so high up." Margret said. "We ended up talking about it and laughed it off."

"But you guys still had a good time, didn't you?"

"Of course we did. It was a lot of fun, up until I had to leave because a family emergency came up." Margret told her.

"I really think you two would be awesome together." Amy said.

"Are you kidding? He doesn't feel that way about me." Margret told her.

"Well, I think otherwise." Rob said as he and the other guys joined them.

"What do you mean?"

"I probably shouldn't say anything," Matt said. "But it seems like Alex has a crush on you."

"What?"

"You didn't know? It's kinda obvious." Amy said.

"Look, I like Alex and all, but I don't want to ruin things between us." Margret said. "Besides, I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship right now. Not with…" She cut off, not wanting to spill the others' secret. She took a deep breath and walked away.

She headed toward the forest, stopping near a row of trees several feet away from everyone. Then she sat down and looked out at the water, where half the party was still hanging out. She heard a twig snap and looked up.

"You heard all that, didn't you?" She asked, without turning around.

"Yeah." Stefan sat down next to her. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Margret lied.

"Margret, you don't have to lie to me. If there's anything going on, you can tell me."

"I just don't feel ready to get into a relationship right now." Margret said. "Alex is one of my oldest and best friends, and if we start dating, it'll change everything."

"When Elena found out about the whole vampire thing, I was worried that being around her would put her in danger, so I tried to leave town."

"I remember." Margret said. "She was really heartbroken when she found out. What made you change your mind?"

"I realized that no matter how dangerous our relationship was, it wasn't going to stop us from having feelings for each other." Stefan told her.

"Yeah, but I don't feel that way about him." Margret said. "At least, I don't think I do."

"No matter what happens, you can never run from love, Margret."

"You give really good advice."

"Well, I've been around for a while." They laughed.

"My sister's lucky to have you. I don't think I've seen her happier since before school started this year." Margret told him.

A few hours later, it started to get dark out. "We should probably get going." Rob said. "The sun's going down."

"Yeah, I know." Amy said. "Let's go before something happens."

"And you criticize me for not liking being out in the woods after dark?" Margret teased.

"I'm not scared, I'm just being careful." Amy pointed out. "You would too after the last few parties that were held there."

"Yeah." Margret said. Elena had pretty much told her everything that happened during those first few months. "Let's go."

At few hours later, Margret was looking at the bracelet she was working on, when she heard Elena come in. "How was the trip?"

"It was just great."

"You got into a fight with him, didn't you?" Margret asked.

"Yeah."

"Find anything out?"

"Not much that can help with this doppelganger thing, though we did find out about something else." Elena said.

A few minutes later, Margret looked at her. "He thinks the Lockwoods are werewolves?"

"I know it's crazy, but it could be true. We don't know anything for sure." Elena pointed out.

"First Rob, and now him? This just keeps getting weirder by the day."

"Wait, Rob?"

"He thinks it's weird that Tyler's uncle came back to town." Margret explained. "Honestly, how in the world do you deal with all this?"

"Like any other person would, one day at a time." Elena told her. "It's been a long day. I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay." They both headed up to their bedrooms.


	24. Volunteer Day (Kill or Be Killed)

Up in the bathroom, Elena was brushing her teeth. The twins were with her. "I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf." Jeremy said.

"We're not sure about that yet. Anything we know for sure is that Mason Lockwood is." Elena told them.

"Still, first vampires and doppelgangers, and now werewolves?" Margret said. "It's getting hard to keep this all straight."

"It should be enough easy for us to figure it out." Jeremy said.

"There is no us. I said that I wouldn't keep things from you anymore. That doesn't mean that I want you involved in it." Elena said.

"By definition of being in this family, I'm involved." Jeremy pointed out.

"This is dangerous, Jeremy. You have to stay out of it, okay?" Elena asked.

"Alright. Just saying."

"Well, I should get changed if we're going to make it to the volunteer event thing." Margret said. She left the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Margret found her group outside. "This all part of the historical society, continuing efforts to give that to the community. Thanks to the generous donation of the Fell family. We are now standing on the sight of our newest public park. Thank you to everyone who has shown up today to land a helping hand. Thanks."

"So, Mrs. Lockwood took over the Mayor position?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, it looks like everyone's found a new job since the last mayor's accident." Amy said.

"Oh, really?" Margret asked.

"Yeah, I heard that Damon Salvatore's in charge of the defense committee." Amy said.

"Wait, Damon?" Margret asked. She was trying not to laugh.

"I know, it's weird especially after all the crap he gave my cousin, but on the other hand, Aunt Liz says he's been good at helping keep the town safe." Amy said.

"Still, it's a little hard to believe." Alex said.

"Come on, guys." Melody said. "I believe we have a job to do." They split up into groups to get the work done.

Amy and Melody joined Elena and Caroline at the wall. "Tell me how we ended up on paint duty?" Amy asked.

"Cause they were short on paint volunteers." Melody said. "And Margie and Alex got stuck on trash duty."

"So suddenly, she's on the running for mother of the year just when I'm trying to avoid her the most." Caroline said. "I'm babbling, you don't want to hear all this."

"You and Aunt Liz fighting or something?"

"No, she just feels guilty for not being there enough, but things are different with me now and I need a little space." Caroline told her.

"So what happened?" Elena asked.

"Well, I was a bitch but it's part of the process." Caroline said. "So, how are things between you and Stefan? Anything?"

"No, not since the fight." Elena said. "He's been pushing me away because he thinks that Katherine might get jealous enough to hurt me. I just don't know how to change his mind."

"You said that Katherine's dangerous. Maybe he's got a point." Caroline said.

"That name sounds familiar." Amy said.

"She's his ex." Elena explained. "Apparently she won't take no for an answer."

"Dang, she must be clingy." Melody said. "But what's so dangerous?"

"Let's just say she hates competition." Caroline said. "She nearly threatened me for just looking at him."

"Okay…sounds like she's totally crazy." Amy said.

"I know that she's dangerous and I know that he's just trying to protect me but it feels like giving up and I just…" Elena sighed.

"Just what?"

"I just thought we were stronger than that."

"Well, I don't know who this Katherine girl is, but in the end, I'm sure you two will be okay." Melody said.

"Wishful thinking." Amy muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Meanwhile, Alex and Margret were working on cleaning the field. "Of all the jobs, I can't believe we're stuck on trash duty." Alex said, picking up a piece of tin foil.

"Someone has to do it and they were short on volunteers." Margret said.

"I know, I'd just like to know who volunteered us." Alex told her.

"Maybe it's Damon's idea of a joke or something." Margret said. "Either way, I don't see how it matters. As long as the work gets done."

"Maybe I should've met with Rob." Alex said.

"It's a sophomore assignment, remember?" Margret asked. "The only juniors helping are the Founder's."

"Yeah, that doesn't excuse the fact that…" Alex cut off, looking at her.

"What?"

"You've got something in your hair." Alex said.

"Really?" Margret checked her dark hair, but couldn't feel anything was off.

"Here, let me help." Alex walked over and touched her hair. After a few minutes, he managed to brush the leaf out of it.

"It was just a leaf."

"Thank you." Margret said.

"It was nothing."

Back where the girls were painting, Melody and Amy's arms collided with each other when they both dipped their brushes in the paint bucket at the same time. "Ow! Amy, would you watch it?"

"Me? What about you?"

"Girls, girls! There's no need to start a paint war." Caroline said. "Okay, Mel, try getting your brush out first." Melody did as she said, and accidentally whacked Caroline with the brush, getting paint on her clothes.

"Oops!" Melody said. "I am so sorry, Care."

"It's no big deal…"

"Yeah," Amy said. "It happens every time we go to one of these…" She gasped as she got her hand free…and accidentally flicked paint onto Melody's clothes. "I'm sorry. That was completely my bad."

"You know, I've never really liked this shirt." Melody said. "It looks a lot better in this color, anyway."

Meanwhile, Caroline had caught Elena and Stefan glancing at each other. "Uh oh. Longing looks are being exchanged."

"I'm going to go talk to him." Elena said.

"No, Elena. I think it's a bad idea." Caroline told her. Elena left anyway.

"So, what do you think's going on?" Melody asked.

"With them? I have no idea." Amy said. "Though it is strange what Caroline's been like lately. It's not like her and Aunt Liz to fight all the time."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Melody said.

Back in the park, Margret and Alex were working together. They're hands almost brushed against each others'. They both blushed. "So, have you seen Mason here?" Alex asked.

"No, why, is he on trash duty, too?" Margret asked.

"That's what the Sheriff said." Alex said.

"I hear he's really into the outdoors." Margret said.

"Yeah, he and Tyler used to go camping together, remember?" Alex said.

"How can I forget?"

"So what's up with you guys lately?"

"Well, Elena and Stefan broke up." Margret said. "Ex drama."

"Got it. So what was up the other night? At the fair?"

"Caroline was a little messed up from the hospital, so Elena and I had to help her."

"I see." Alex said.

"I wonder what's up with Caroline." Amy told Melody as they continued working on painting. "She's not really into Stefan anymore."

"She went to see if Elena was okay. Knowing her, we're going to be stuck doing this by ourselves for the next hour." Melody said.

"Yeah, though at least she can't boss us around." Amy pointed out.

"Very true." Melody said.

The group managed to get their work finished by sunset. They met up in the park and looked at each other. Margret's hair was messed up, Melody and Amy both had paint covering their clothes.

"What happened to you two?" Margret asked.

"Accidentally started a paint war." Melody said. "Don't ask."

"It's a really long story." Amy added.

"Right. Well, we should get going." Margret said. The group started to walk off.

"So, you guys wanna head to the Grill?" Alex asked.

"After all the work we've done, I think it's a good idea." Melody said. Margret had received a text message from Elena, explaining she was at the Boarding House and that Care and her mom would be staying there.

"Actually, I should probably be heading back." Amy said. "Aunt Liz had an unexpected case this afternoon and Care's spending the night at your place, likely to complain about her mom's parenting." Margret had a feeling the two events were related.

"Yeah, Caroline's really been having a rough time lately." Melody said.

"I should probably be on my way, too." Margret told them. "Though, I'll take a rain check on that offer."

"I'm cool with that." Alex said. "See you tomorrow, then." He kissed Margret on the cheek, causing her to blush.

At the Boarding House, Margret walked into the living room. Elena and Caroline were holding each other. "Rough day?"

"You could say that." Elena told her. "Turns out, she got to her." It didn't take long for Margret to figure out she meant Katherine.

"And to top it all off, my mom hates me!"

"Care, she doesn't hate you." Margret said.

"She knows what I am and she hates me." That surprised Margret. She looked to her sister.

"It's a long story." Elena said. "I'll explain later."

"Well, you're covered. Amy thinks you're staying at our place." Margret said.

"Thanks." Caroline said.

"Speaking of covers, think you could cover for me?" Elena asked. "I don't want to leave her alone here."

"No problem." Margret said. "Jer and I are always good at this."

"Well, that's cause you always cover for each other." Elena said.

"That's what we do. We're family." Margret pointed out.

"I'll let you know everything tomorrow." Elena said. Margret headed into the hallway and nearly ran into Damon.

"Sorry about that."

"No problem."

"I need to get back to my place." Margret said. She left the house without looking back.


	25. Plan B

A few days later, Margret was in the hallway when she ran into Jeremy. "Hey, you're up early."

"Well, I'm helping set up for the dance, too, remember?" Jeremy pointed out. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something. Do you know anything about moonstones?"

"From what I know, they have magic properties and are said to be most powerful when the moon's full." Margret explained. "Why are you asking?"

"Just curious." Jeremy said. "I've gotta go." With that, he left, leaving his twin looking kinda confused.

Later on, the rest of the group met up near the Lockwood's place to help set up for the Masquerade Ball. "I can't believe they're actually doing this." Amy said.

"Well, they always did know how to throw a party." Rob pointed out.

"We better get to work then." Melody said. "Mrs. Lockwood has everyone constantly switching groups this time."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Margie, what's up with Elena and Bonnie lately?" Melody asked. "They seem to be more distant."

"They're both just worried about how Caroline's changed." Margret said. It wasn't a total lie, but she couldn't just outright tell Amy and the others that her cousin was a vampire.

"Yeah, it's been kinda weird adjusting to." Amy agreed. "Somehow, she seems a lot more different."

"Well, what do you expect? After the accident and recovery, she was bound to change in some ways." Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm just having a hard time accepting it."

"Well, she really needs all the friends she can get." Margret said. "And you, Amy."

The guys were decorating for the dance. "She's this amazing girl one minute and then this raging jealous freak the next." Matt said.

"Well, girls are complicated sometimes." Rob explained. "Trust me, it's the same with Amy sometimes. But I know she always means well."

"Look, you know what I think about Caroline Forbes. She's an insecure narcotic bitchy little twig." Tyler said.

"Hey!"

"Dude, not cool!" Alex said.

"But the girl's got heart, she means well. You just get the mean with the best sometimes."

"Whatever." Alex said.

"Yeah, you're just jealous cause you don't have a girlfriend." Rob said.

"I am not." Alex said. "Look, Margret is just a good friend and I like her and all, but I don't want to force her into something she's not ready for, especially when it could ruin our friendship."

"I totally get it man. I'm just messing with you." Rob said.

"I'm gonna go get an extra. I'll be right back." Matt said. He left the group. Jeremy came over.

"Hey man"

"Hey!"

"Think we should do something in case they start fighting?" Rob asked.

"I don't know. They seem to be more like friends now." Alex said.

"Yeah, I heard from Amber the other day that they all went to his place."

"Anyway, did you mean what you said about Amy?"

"Of course. She can be so shy sometimes." Rob said.

The girls were helping organize masks and hang up streamers. "So where's Caroline? This is like her thing. I can't believe she's not here." Matt said.

"I called her earlier. She said she couldn't make it." Amy said.

"Is she seeing someone?"

"Matt, come on. No, she's not." Elena pointed out.

"Trust me, I'd be the first to know if she was." Amy said. "Besides, Caroline doesn't cheat on anyone."

"Yeah, what about that time we went swimming last summer?" Melody pointed out.

"That was freshman year, Melody!"

"Now that was too much information." Margret said, handing Melody a silver-colored mask. "I think this one would look good with you're eyes."

"You sure? It seems a little bold to me."

"Please, who said that the DJ couldn't look pretty at the party?" Margret asked.

"About that, I'm actually not doing this party." Melody told them. "I was going to, but it's been hard keeping up with school lately, so I'm not supposed to do anything music related till the grades come up."

"They didn't say you couldn't dance, though." Amy pointed out.

"True, but Rob's the one with the car taking us." Melody said.

"Anyone's seen Mason?" Tyler asked.

"He took off. He said he wasn't sure when he'd be back." Stefan told him.

"It's so weird." Margret had a feeling she knew what was going on. She looked over at Stefan as Tyler left, but he was looking at his phone. He glanced over at Elena, then left.

"What is going on with them?" Melody asked.

"Are they still broken up?" Amy asked Margret.

"Yeah, but the feelings are still there." Margret said. "Still, things have been kinda weird around here lately."

"I'm sure they'll get back together soon." Amy said. "I mean, look at them. They still care about each other. They're obviously soul mates."

"Seriously?" Melody asked.

"Here we go again." Margret said.

"How many times have we been over this?" Melody said. "There's no such thing as soul mates, there's no, like, silver cord or anything connecting two people together. It's either meant to be or it's not."

"Yeah, what do you know about love, Melody?" Amy asked. "You don't even have a boyfriend!"

"I know, but you know what, who cares?" Melody said. "Obviously love is blind though, considering you're dating my brother!"

"Are they fighting over that stupid soul mate concept again?" Alex asked, coming over to Margret.

"Yep. Just when you thought it they'd get over this by now." Margret said. "Last time it took two days for them to talk to each other again."

"They'll get over it." Alex said. "They're friends, they can't stay mad at each other."

Margret arrived home after Jeremy. Elena texted her, telling her she had an emergency in the woods to take care of earlier. They were sitting in the kitchen. "So that's why everyone was asking about the…"

"Yeah." Elena said.

"Wow. One day, and you miss all the action."

"Hey, it's smarter to not get involved, trust me." Elena told her. "Where's Jeremy?"

"Oh, he went straight up to his room. He said he's not hungry." Alaric told them.

"Maybe I should go check on him." Margret said. She went upstairs. "Hey, Jer."

"Hi."

"I heard about what happened today." Margret said. "We don't have to worry about it, though, because the moonstone's in safe hands."

"That's good to…"

"Jenna, no!" The twins rushed downstairs.

"What happened?" Margret asked. Then she noticed Jenna on the floor, bleeding. "Oh, no!" Alaric was calling an ambulance. Elena was next to Aunt Jenna.

"Hang in there, you will be okay. You have to be okay." Elena was telling her.

"Jenna."

A few hours later, Jeremy and Margret were sitting in the waiting room. "Now I know what it felt like when Amy was waiting to see if Caroline was okay." Margret said.

"This isn't the first time we've been here, though."

"Please, don't bring that up again." Margret said. "I was so worried we were going to lose Elena that day. Bad memories, bro."

Elena walked into the waiting room. "Is she okay?" Jeremy asked her.

"The doctors told Alaric that she got lucky. She's gonna be okay." Elena told them.

"That's such a relief." Margret said.

"Did she remember what happened?"

"No, nothing. It's all a part of Katherine's mind compulsion." Elena explained.

"Why would Katherine hurt Aunt Jenna?" Jeremy asked.

"Because she's trying to send a message, that she could get to anybody." She told them.

_"_Hey, hey, come here." Jeremy told her as she started to cry. He held her in his arms. "It's gonna be okay."

"No it's not." Elena said.

"She's gonna pay Elena. I don't know how but she's gonna pay."

"Yeah, no one messes with our family and gets away with it, no matter how dangerous they are." Margret added.

"When did you two get so brave?" Elena asked, smiling.

"Ever since we found out the truth." Jeremy pointed out.

"We always get through these things." Margret said. "And Katherine crossed the line this time."


	26. Masquerade

Rob was helping Margret and the rest of the Gilbert family get inside. "Easy. Grab the door Jer." Matt was saying.

"Hey, stop fussing, I'm fine." Jenna insisted.

"The doctors said that you have to take it easy." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, you don't want to rip your stitches, hemorrhage and die, alright?"

"Yeah, the only thing I'm gonna die from is embarrassment." Jenna told them.

"That's impossible, Aunt Jenna." Margret pointed out.

"I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?" Jenna said.

"It is a freak accident." Elena told her.

"Yeah, it happens." Jeremy added.

"Yeah, I mean I've done it like twenty times at the Grill." Matt said. Jenna started to laugh, then winced due to the pain.

"Easy, Aunt Jenna." Margret said.

"Here, let's help get her to the couch." Rob said.

"What should I do with this?" Matt asked.

"I got it." Elena said, taking the bag into the kitchen with her. Jeremy went with her, while Margret and the guys stayed with Aunt Jenna.

"You're pretty good with this stuff, Rob."

"Well, I do want to be a doctor, you know."

"With your grades?"

"I actually think it's cool." Matt said.

"I don't think Amy would mind having you as a doctor." Margret said.

"Any of us would be lucky with his help." Matt pointed out.

"Thanks for helping us with this, guys." Margret said. "We were really scared we'd lose her."

"Good thing the wound wasn't that serious." Matt said.

"And you know we're always here for you guys." Rob added. "That's what friends do for each other, right?" Margret heard the back door close and headed into the kitchen.

"What's up with Jeremy?"

"I don't know." Elena said. "He thinks we should go after Katherine, but I think it's too dangerous. I mean, look at what happened with Aunt Jenna. What if it's Caroline next? Or Matt? Or Robert?"

"I understand, but we can't just let her get away with everything. We're going to have to fight back at some point." Margret pointed out.

"I wish we wouldn't have to, but until then, we better be extremely careful."

A few minutes later, Margret and Rob were talking. "So, I'm guessing you're not coming to the party tonight."

"After what's happened with Jenna, it's probably not a good idea." Margret said. "Tell the others I'm sorry, okay?"

"Hey, what happened wasn't your fault, Margret."

"I know, but she could use the extra company."

"You know Alex will understand, right?" Rob said.

"Of course." Margret said. "Besides, he already knows I'm not coming."

"Well, I should go get ready."

"See around, Rob." Margret pointed out.

A few hours later, the girls were watching a movie in the living room. "I feel like an invalid." Jenna said.

"That's because you are invalid." Elena pointed out.

"Well, at least it's temporary." Margret said.

"Where's Jeremy? Isn't he hungry?" Elena asked.

"He already left for the Lockwood party." Jenna told her.

"He went to that?" Elena asked. Margret looked away. Jeremy sent her a text earlier saying that he and the others were going to get back at Katherine at the party. "Did you know he was going?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I asked him to stay for family night, but he didn't feel like it." Margret said.

"Yeah, I'm glad. He needs to have more fun. Lose some of that emo thing." Jenna said.

"I'm gonna get some napkins." Elena said.

"I know." Margret said. "But he's been hanging out with Alex more often."

"That's cool."

At the party, Melody and the others were all outside. Melody was in a blue dress with a mask to match it. "It's too bad she couldn't make it."

"I wouldn't come, either, if something had happened to one of my parents." Alex said. His mask was black, though his blue eyes were still visible.

"Yeah, I'm surprised Amy didn't show up yet." Rob said. "Anyway, I'm going to see how Tyler's doing. He's seemed a little upset since we started planning this party."

"So, what now?" Alex asked when Rob was gone.

"How about we dance?" Melody suggested. He looked at her. "Unless you'd rather go home or something."

The two of them headed out to the dance floor. "Wow, you're pretty good at this." Melody said.

"I've had practice." Alex said. "I had to fill in for one of the guys at the beauty contest."

"Wait, you were down there?" Melody asked.

"Tina's date bailed."

"So as usual, you decided to play the girls' knight in shining armor." Melody teased.

"Something like that." Alex said.

"Oh, no way." Melody said.

"What? Is it that unbelievable I'd be willing to help."

"No, not that. That." She was looking at another couple dancing. "I thought Elena was staying home tonight."

"Maybe she snuck out." Alex said.

"No, if she had, I'm sure Margie would know about it." Melody said. "I'm going to go call her."

"Okay."

A few minutes later, the group met up. "Margret said Elena's at home so unless she snuck out of the house…"

"We all know she wouldn't attempt that again." Rob said.

"Yeah, though you know what's really weird?" Alex told them. "The fact that her brother's here with Bonnie."

"No way." Melody said.

"Yeah, I saw them sitting together outside."

"You don't think they're dating, do you?" Rob asked him.

"Okay, Margie's twin and her sister's best friend? Now that'd be weird." Melody pointed out.

"Weirder things have happened Melody." Rob pointed out. "I never thought that I'd be dating Amy and now look at us."

"He's kinda got a point, Melody. Sometimes we end up with people we never expected to be with." Alex said. He walked away. Melody watched as he left.

"Melody?" Rob asked.

"Sorry. What'd you say?" She asked.

"Did you two get in a fight or something?"

"No. Actually, can you meet me out front in ten minutes? I want to talk with him."

"Sure."

Melody found Alex near the fountain. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You know what happened out there, it didn't mean anything, right?" Melody said.

"Of course I know that. Besides, I like Margret." Alex pointed out.

"I know." Melody said. "It's a little bit obvious."

"I just wish I could be there for her, but I know she'd turn me down."

"Look, you're a good friend, Alex, but I don't know if she's ready for a relationship yet." Melody said. "I mean, her brother's girlfriend went missing and her sister's going through a breakup."

"I don't know, I like her and all, but I can't help but feel like she's hiding something from us." Alex said.

"Please, Margret would never lie to us." Melody said. "She's my best friend, I'd know if she were keeping secrets."

"We should probably get going, we don't want to miss our ride home." He pointed out. Melody nodded and they ran to catch up with Rob before he left.


	27. Rose

Margret finished getting ready for school, when Jeremy opened the door. "Twin, don't you ever knock?"

"Sorry, I just need to know, did you see Elena last night?" Jeremy asked.

"I thought she was here all night." Margret said. "Wait, Melody did mention she saw her with Stefan at the dance last night. Maybe she's with him."

"Well, I haven't seen her car in the driveway." Jeremy said.

"Let's just go." Margret said. "Maybe she's already at school."

At the school, the two of them found Stefan near his locker. "I didn't see her car in the parking lot." Margret whispered.

"Mrs. Lockwood said her car's still at her house."

"Maybe she got a ride with him."

"Well, let's ask." Jeremy said. They walked over to Stefan.

"Hey, guys."

"Look, Elena's got to let me know if I'm supposed to cover for her. Jenna's cool with the two of you but you guys are pushing it." Jeremy said.

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

"You and Elena. Look, I'm glad you guys are back together but if she's gonna sleep over…"

"Wait, wait… hold on a minute. We're not back together." Stefan said.

"Wait… she didn't stay at your place last night?"

"No, I mean I saw her at the party but that was it. She didn't sleep over."

"We thought she got a ride here with you this morning." Margret said.

"I haven't seen her since last night, you two."

"Well, she wasn't at home this morning and her car's still at the Lockwoods." Jeremy explained. They all looked at each other. The bell rang.

"I have to get to class, see you!" Margret yelled, practically running down the hallway away from the guys.

"Is she always like this?"

"It's a defense mechanism." Jeremy said. "She doesn't want anyone to know…" He cut off. "Please don't tell her I told you."

"You talk with your sibling, I'll talk with mine."

Outside, Margret was sitting by herself. "Margie? What are you doing out here?"

"Just thinking about things."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Bonnie said, sitting next to her. She sighed.

"Elena's missing. No one knows where she is." Margret explained.

"You shouldn't worry about this stuff."

"I didn't, until I found out about vampires and witches and who knows what else. She's been missing since last night." Bonnie's phone buzzed.

"There's something I need to do. I'll see you later, Margret."

"Look, I'm sure Elena's fine wherever she is." Jeremy said as they walked down the hallway.

"Easy for you to say." Margret said. "Our big sister's been kidnapped, Jer."

"If it's one thing I know about our sister, it's that she's a fighter." Jeremy said. "She'll find a way to keep herself safe until we can get to her." Suddenly, his phone beeped. He looked at the message. "Bonnie wants us to meet her in the classroom."

A few minutes later, they were in the classroom. There were a map and candle set on a desk.

"How does this work?" Jeremy asked.

"I'll use your blood dry the energy for the tracking spell. You're blood related; it'll make the connection stronger." Bonnie explained.

"Of course." Margret said. "Um, can you do it, Jer? I'm a little squeamish when it comes to blood."

"Alright, Alaric said we've got to clear out of here within ten minutes." Stefan told them.

"Are you ready?" Bonnie asked. Margret took a step back. The blood drops moved to Elena's location on the map.

"This is creepier than that séance we did in the living room." Margret said.

"No Bonnie. We need a more exact location than that."

"That's the closest I can get."

"We can map it." Jeremy suggested. "Area view will show us what's around there, help us bound the area."

"Perfect. Call me with whatever you find." Stefan told him.

"No, no, I'm coming with you!" Jeremy said.

"No, you're not."

"Jer, come on. If her kidnappers were supernatural, we stand no chance against them." Margret pointed out.

"No, I'm gonna just sit here. What if she's hurt okay?"

"She's not." Margret said. They looked at her. "Thanks to this charm Bonnie gave me, I can tell if my sister's in trouble."

"Okay, but you can't just go after her alone."

"He's not." They looked up. Damon had entered the room. "Let's go."

"You're coming with me?" Stefan asked.

"It's Elena."

"Please, bring her back safe." Margret told them.

"That's why we're doing this." Stefan reminded her. "See you later."

A few hours later, the group was sitting around Jeremy's room. "Alaric just left with Jenna." Bonnie said.

"He's getting her out of the house for a while so she doesn't ask questions about Elena." Jeremy said.

"Anyone else think it's a little weird our history teacher's dating our aunt?" Margret asked.

"Sort of, but how many teachers do you know that are vampire hunters?" Bonnie pointed out.

"I pulled this up based on that spell on the map." Jeremy said, showing them what he found. "there's nothing for miles except for this old house."

"Did you send it to Stefan?"

"Yeah. I hate sitting here, waiting like this." Jeremy said.

"So do I, but what else can we do? We don't have any special powers like they do." Margret pointed out.

"Hey, she's gonna be fine, you two." Bonnie said.

"You don' t know that." Jeremy said.

"We have to stay positive." Margret pointed out. "Elena knows a lot more about this stuff and she's been through worse." Bonnie pulled her grimore out of her bag.

"What are you doing?" Jeremy asked.

"There's something else I want to try." Bonnie said. "Okay, I need a candle. Margie, can you get Elena's hairbrush?"

"Yeah." The twins left and came back with the items she asked for.

"What's all this stuff for?" Jeremy asked.

"I know it's crazy but I might be able to get her a message." Bonnie told them. She crumpled up the note she'd written and lit the candle. She cast the spell, causing it to burn.

"Bonnie!" Margret looked at her. She had a nosebleed.

"Oh, no. Bonnie." She looked at them before passing out. "What just happened?"

"She passed out." Jeremy said. "Keep an eye on her, I'm going to see if we have anything that can help." Margret nodded and sat down next to her sister's now unconscious best friend.

About half an hour later, she woke up. "Good, you're awake." Margret said. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Bonnie said.

"You fainted, but before that, you're nose was…"

"Oh, man." Jeremy returned then.

"How is she?"

"She seems fine." His twin sister answered.

"Here, drink this." Jeremy handed Bonnie a glass of water.

"Thanks."

"What happened? You scared the hell out of me." Jeremy said.

"I've been doing a lot of magic lately. It wares me down." Bonnie admitted.

"When I'm warring down, I take a nap. You were… you were unconscious." Jeremy pointed out.

"I was a little scared, too." Margret said.

"Witchcraft has its limits." Bonnie explained. "If I push too hard, it pushes back. It's like a reminder that I'm not invincible. Please don't… don't tell anyone."

"Why not?" Jeremy asked.

"Because it's a weakness and I don't want certain people to know that." Bonnie said.

"It's not a weakness, you're just not used to doing so much magic." Margret told her.

"Yeah, but if anyone finds out, they can hurt me."

"I won't tell anyone, okay? I promise." Jeremy said.

"Same here. Besides, I'm good at keeping secrets." Margret said.

"Thanks, guys." Bonnie said, smiling. "It's been hard, you know? My gram is gone and my dad, he doesn't want to know about what I am. He hasn't since my mom left. I'm all alone in this."

"It's how I feel a lot of the time, alone." Jeremy said. The two of them looked at each other.

"Anyway, you guys think that spell worked?" Margret asked.

"I have no idea." Bonnie admitted.

A few hours later, Margret was sitting in the beanbag chair in her brothers room, reading a book. Then she heard the door open downstairs. It woke Bonnie up.

The three of them headed downstairs. Elena was back. "Are you okay?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm okay." She told them. She turned to Bonnie. "I got your message." Suddenly, they were all trying to embrace her at once. Margret was relieved her sister was okay. Then she noticed a figure move away from the door.

That evening, Margret was getting ready for bed when she noticed a figure outside. "I know you can hear me. You can come up here."

"Hey."

"We're all really glad that Elena's okay." Margret said.

"I know."

"Thanks for getting her back safely."

"You know I'd do anything to help you're sister, Margret." Stefan said.

"You dropped her off here earlier, didn't you?" Margret asked. "I thought I saw you outside before."

"I didn't think anyone noticed."

"No matter what happens next, I know you'll help Elena." Margret said.

"I should get going. I'll see you around." The next thing she knew, Stefan was gone.

"I'm still going to have to get used to that." She said. She went to her bed and fell asleep.


	28. Katerina

The group met up at school the next day. Bonnie dropped one of her books. "Here, I got it." Jeremy picked it up.

"Thanks. Where is Elena?"

"She's actually running late today." Margret said. "She's probably getting a ride."

"Margie, there you are!" Amy waved her over.

"Later, bro!" She ran to her.

"I saw that. What's up with your brother and Bonnie?"

"They're just friends." Margret said. "She's been tutoring him in math."

"Well, if he's got a crush on her, it looks like she's got some competition." Rob said. They looked and noticed a new guy over there.

"He must've just transferred in." Amy said.

"Something feels off about him." Margret said as she watched him and her brother leave.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about the new kid." Margret said. "Anyway, I'm going to be late for class. I'll catch you later." She took off.

"Things have been kinda weird around here lately." Amy said.

"Yeah, well, things change sometimes." Rob pointed out.

"Yeah, speaking of which…" Amy noticed Caroline talking with Stefan.

"You don't really think she's still into him, do you?" Rob asked. "I mean, come on. She's dating Matt Donovan."

"Yeah, well at least he's a good influence on her." Amy said. "From what I've heard, Stefan doesn't exactly have perfect attendance."

"It's not a rumor, family issues always come up." Rob explained. "You can understand that, though. Didn't Care get really drunk at last year's homecoming?"

"Yeah, she was in bed all day." Amy said. "Aunt Liz was really angry with her. I'm not really sure where she was that day."

After school, the group met up at the Grill. "I can't believe Melody's got guitar lessons today." Amy said.

"I know, with all the instruments she plays, you'd think she'd be good on guitar." Rob said. "After all, she did have a good teacher when she was beginning to learn how to play it."

"You taught her to play guitar?" Margret asked. "I always thought she learned it in band camp."

"No, before we started high school, I was in a small garage band." Rob said. "I had this acoustic guitar. One day, Mel came home after a really bad day at school. Some of the others said she had no talent."

"I remember that." Margret said. "I told her that they're opinions didn't matter and tried to cheer her up."

"Yeah, those girls were so mean." Amy said. "Even I wanted nothing to do with them after that. Sure, Melody was a little geeky back then, but I still considered her my friend and they crossed the line."

"Anyway, I was practicing in my room when I heard her come upstairs." Rob explained. "She was really upset. I had her sit next to me and started teaching her some of the basics of playing the guitar. That weekend, she played with us at some party at the school."

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome." Amy said. "I helped pick out her outfit."

"And that was the first time she played in public." Margret pointed out. "And now look at her, she's always getting involved in for music selections for parties and dances in town."

"Anyway, anyone think that it's weird how many new students transfer to our school?" Amy asked.

"Are you still thinking about that Luka kid?" Rob asked.

"Yeah." Amy said. "It's weird how all the new guys are so…mysterious."

"Hate to admit it, but she's kinda got a point." Margret said. "I just hope this one's not hiding some kind of dark secret."

"You say something?" Rob asked.

"No." Margret nearly kicked herself for nearly letting that one slip out.

"Well, I should get going." Rob said. "I'll see you later." He left the room. It was then Margret heard two people arguing.

"You have got to be kidding me." She said.

"Should we see if there's something we can do?" Amy asked, noticing Caroline now sitting alone.

"Yeah." Margret headed outside, while Amy went over to her cousin.

"What happened over here?"

"We got into an argument over Elena." Caroline told her. "He wanted to check up on her, but she really needs to be alone for a while."

"Is she sick or something?" Amy asked.

"Not really, but I still just don't think it's a good idea."

Outside, Margret found Stefan. "What the heck just happened in there?"

"Elena left early and Care's the only one that knows where she is. Unless she told you something."

"No, I'm sorry, Stef."

"It's okay. I think I have a good idea where she might be."

"Well, I'll be at home." Margret told him.

Back inside, Amy was watching Bonnie and Luka. She wondered what was going on with all her friends lately. She got up and left.

At home, Margret was writing in her diary when Jeremy got back. "Hey."

"Hey. So, what's up with you and Bonnie?" Margret asked.

"Nothing. We're just…actually, I don't know what we are. I mean, she's my sister's best friend and I know it's weird, but I think I really like her." Jeremy said.

"That's great." Margret said.

"Yeah, but I don't think she's interested in going out with 'Elena's kid brother.'"

"Hey, no one calls you that anymore." Margret said. "Besides, Bonnie's always a little reserved when it comes to dating new people."

"Yeah, I guess I should give her a little space." Jeremy said.

"She'll come around sometime." Margret said. "I just have that feeling." Downstairs, she heard the door open. When she came out, she notice's their sister's door was closed.

"I'm guessing she had a bad day." Jeremy said.

"It would seem that way." Margret said. "I'm sure we'll get through anything, though."

"Yeah, I know we will."


	29. Sacrifice

Margret woke up when she heard something in the house. At first, she wondered if one of Elena's friends had snuck in. She headed out of her room and nearly ran into Elena. "Sorry."

"It's okay. What happened? You couldn't sleep?"

"I thought I heard someone moving around the house." Margret told her.

"Yeah, so did I. It was just Jenna and Alaric." Elena said.

"Oh." Margret was blushing now.

"Yeah, I know. Let's just get some sleep."

"Right." They both headed back to their rooms.

The next day, Margret was getting ready for school when she heard Elena talking with the guys in the kitchen.

"You don't believe her, do you?" Her sister asked.

"No, of course not. We just want the moonstone." She heard Damon tell her.

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's the way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break." Stefan said.

"No spell, no doppelganger sacrifice so ergo you live."

"How do you destroy it?"

"By releasing it from the moonstone."

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?" Elena asked.

"'cause we have a crafty witch on our side." Damon said.

"You discussed with Bonnie."

"She agreed to do anything she could to help us."

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone. She's not gonna give it to you."

"We're gonna get it from her." Margret paused, listening to the conversation.

"Whoa, seems like you guys have already all planned out…Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it

"What are you talking about? Elena, we don't have a choice."

"What about Klaus?"

"We'll find him right after we get the moonstone."

"Is that before or after that he kills everyone that I care about, including the two of you?" Elena said. Margret gasped.

"Elena, if we can dispel the moonstone, we can save your life."

"I know, everybody keeps saying that." Margret heard the door from the kitchen open and close. She figured Elena left already.

"You heard all that didn't you?" Damon asked her. Margret entered the kitchen.

"Could you please explain?" She said.

"Might want to sit down for this one." Stefan told her.

Melody was walking outside, when a sudden wind gust nearly blew her homework away. "Shoot! That was my history assignment!" As soon as the wind storm died down, Margret showed up.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to get a ride from Damon, of all people." She explained.

"Then I guess you didn't see that wind storm." Melody said. "Think Mr. Saltzman will be mad if I don't turn in my homework?"

"I'm sure he'll understand, Mel." Margret told her.

"So that must be the new guy Amy mentioned." Melody said, noticing Luka.

"Yeah, he seems to have a thing for Bonnie." Margret said. She didn't mention Jeremy's crush on her.

"Well, I think it's time Bonnie started dating again." Melody said. "She hasn't been out with a guy since the school fair."

"Yeah, I guess." Margret said.

"So, have you heard anything about Caroline?" Melody asked. "Amy said she'd been kind of distant lately."

"Probably still recovering from her break-up with Matt." Margret said.

It wasn't until lunch when she got a text from Jeremy. "It's my twin." She told Melody. She looked at the message:

Bonnie's trying to open the tomb, but she isn't strong enough.

Margret was worried. She knew all about the first tomb incident and what it did to Mrs. Bennett. However, after what the guys told her that morning about Elena needing to be sacrificed to break some curse, did they really have a choice?

"What's up?" Melody asked.

"Oh, nothing. He just said that he had to leave early to help the upperclassman with a project." Margret told her. She was getting better at hiding their secret.

"Right, I noticed him hanging out with the others lately." Melody said. "Did you know he went to the masquerade with Bonnie?"

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah, it's weird, right?"

"I guess." Margret said. She didn't need her friends to know about Jeremy's crush on Bonnie. Her phone vibrated again. She got another text from Jeremy.

I have a plan, but it might be dangerous. If Elena asks, cover for me.

Margret sighed. How was she supposed to lie to her sister? It was bad enough lying to her friends. "Guess he's having a little bit of difficulty."

"Well, I'm sure they'll work it out. Like how we had to for the school fair."

"Hey, my sister organized that in Care's place, remember?" Margret pointed out.

"True, though she wasn't that bad at it." A few minutes later, Margret got a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Margie, it's me." She heard Bonnie say into the phone. "I'm afraid you're brother is in trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"Meet us under the old church ruins in the forest. And hurry!"

"I need to get going." Margret said. "It looks like Jeremy needs a little extra help."

"Good luck." Melody said. "And if you need any pointers, call me!"

"I will!" Margret called behind her as she ran off.

A few minutes later, Margret was looking around the woods when she finally found the ruins. She texted Bonnie, asking where to meet her. It was completely pitch black inside. She couldn't see anything.

"We have to get him out of there." She heard Bonnie say. She immediately ran inside, then something grabbed her hand. She nearly screamed, but then realized it was Stefan.

"Whatever you do, don't go into that tunnel. We can't risk her hurting you, too."

"Think you can get close enough?" Bonnie asked him.

"I don't have a choice."

"It might take me some time." Bonnie said.

"Just get me in there as soon as you can."

"Wait, is this the tomb you guys were talking about before?" Margret asked.

"Wow, she really did tell you everything." Bonnie said. A few minutes later, she was in the middle of doing a spell. Just then, she saw what looked like her sister holding Jeremy. She gasped, seeing him hurt.

"You have to stop her, she's not strong enough!" Jeremy called to them.

"Maybe she is." The girl said. Margret looked at her carefully, noticing her eyes seemed kind of…cold, like she couldn't trust anyone.

"You've got to stop her." Jeremy said. Suddenly, she knocked him out.

"Don't you dare touch my brother again!" Margret yelled at her.

"Huh, I didn't realize my doppelganger had another sibling." The girl said.

"Give it a rest, Katherine. I'm not falling for your mind games." Margret said. Just then, Bonnie collapsed. Stefan ran to her side.

"She's okay. Just give her a moment." Margret told him. She was really concerned about Bonnie over-doing it though. Sure enough, Bonnie woke up.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked her.

"It didn't work. I'm not strong enough. Even with help I can't do it." Bonnie realized.

"That's too bad, I'm still hungry."

To Margret, everything happened at once then. The next thing she knew, Jeremy was out of the tomb and Stefan was stuck in there with Katherine. She turned to Jeremy. "We need to get him home." She told Bonnie.

"I can take him in the car." Bonnie said. She started to drag him out of the tomb. "You coming?"

"In a second." Margret said. She turned to Stefan. "Thanks for saving him, but now…"

"Hey, I would've done it again in a second." Stefan told her. "Go help your brother out, I'll be okay."

It was dark by the time they got home. "I'm home, okay? I don't need an escort to my room." Jeremy told them.

"I don't know. Between here and upstairs there's still time for you to do something stupid." Bonnie said.

"Okay, enough, you two." Margret said. "We all blew it tonight. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about what was going on, but my twin swore me to secrecy."

"Like I don't feel bad enough, guys." Jeremy said. He put an ice pack on his neck.

"Here, take these." Margret handed him what looked like herbs. "These can help stop the bleeding faster."

"Wow, you should be a nurse."

"Stefan is stuck in there and I don't know how to get him out." Bonnie said. "What should I be doing?"

"You should admit that you never should have tried this in the first place." Jeremy said.

"I didn't have a choice, Jeremy!" Bonnie said.

"Yeah, neither did I." Jeremy told her. Margret looked at them.

"Um, I'll be upstairs." She said. She headed to her room. After a while, Jeremy came in.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just trying to figure out how we're gonna tell Elena about this." Margret said. "Bonnie's right, what you did was stupid."

"I know, but she was doing something dangerous."

"Look, I know how you feel about her, Jer, but she's got too much baggage going on right now because things like this keep happening." Margret told him.

"Yeah, I get it." Jeremy said. "It's just, I'm tired of bad things happening to the girls I like."

"I guess that's what happens when you're surrounded by the supernatural." Margret said.

"Hey, I know it's hard keeping it a secret from your friends." Jeremy told her. "It's effected me, too. It's sort of why I got involved with Anna."

"Wow. You know, I need better excuses. I think Melody's getting suspicious." Margret said.

"I'll help you out with this."

"Jeremy…"

"No, this is one thing I know that I won't mess up. Besides, Melody sort of has a crush on me."

"You do anything to lead her on and I'll crush you." Margret told him.

"Okay."


	30. The Descent

"How is it?" Rose asked as Damon looked at her wolf bite.

"Definitely better." He lied. "Right, Elena?"

"Uh, it's not bad." Elena said.

"Where's Stefan?"

"He left. I need you to talk to him. He's convinced that he has to find Isobel but I think that's gonna upset Elijah." Elena explained.

"No, can't do. I'm with Stefan on this one but if you could play nurse for a little while…"

"It's not necessary."

"It is necessary. Elena is a do-gooder. It's in her nature, she just can't resist." Damon said.

"Well, I may not be a healer, but my sister made this." She was holding a bracelet. "She said these crystals had healing properties, especially against all kinds of venomous substances."

"Think it'll work?" Rose asked.

"I don't know, but it can't hurt to try." Elena pointed out. She handed the bracelet to Damon, who bent over and slipped it onto Rose's wrist.

"I usually don't believe in this kind of stuff, but for once, I agree with little Margret."

At school, Margret met up with the others. "Hey, are you okay?" Amy asked her. "You seem out of it."

"I was up all night working on a bracelet for a friend of Damon's. She's a little sick." Margret told them.

"That's terrible." Amy said. "Are you sure you want to be here, Margie?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to miss the athletic fundraiser." Margret said. "Especially with our guys working together."

"Speaking of our guys, look over there." Amy said. Margret turned and saw Caroline and Tyler. "What's she doing with that jerk?"

"Hey, he's not a jerk." Margret said. "He just has some family issues. When we lost the mayor, he lost his father. Not that he was a nice guy, but Tyler isn't all bad."

"Yeah, he seems different to me, too." Alex agreed. "He seems sort of…friendlier."

"I just don't get why she's with Tyler when she still likes Matt." Amy said. "She called me the other day, saying she wished she could be there more for him."

"I don't know, maybe she's just changed." Rob said. "Remember when I dated Kate sophomore year? We broke up because she didn't want to be with a guy who worked part-time at the Grill."

"Wow. That is so shallow." Amy said.

"We didn't even have anything in common anyway." Rob pointed out.

"Yeah, but you were totally smitten over her." Alex said.

"Can we please change the subject?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, Care seems a little down lately." Amy said. "And anyway, I believe you when you say nothing happened."

Margret rolled her eyes. If she and Alex ever turned out like that…

"Maybe she's just got a lot going on lately." Margret said. "I mean, she is always busy with school activities and helping her friends."

"Yeah, I know." Amy said. "But things still feel off with her. She's practically dodging Matt's calls."

"Well, she probably just needs some space." Alex said. "All girls need a break sometimes, you know."

"Yeah, but if I have to watch them become like Rachael and Ross, I'm going to lose it."

"So, what time is this thing again anyway?" Margret asked.

"I think it starts at four." Alex told her. "Are you okay? You seem tense."

"I'm fine. I promise." Deep down, she was worried about Elena. The text she'd gotten from her wasn't good news. Just then her phone buzzed. She looked at the message:

Not doing good over here, I might need you to cover for me tonight.

"Hey, what's up?" Alex asked, reading the message.

"She's watching a sick friend." Margret said. "The girl isn't doing very well, though. It's pretty bad."

"Think she'll get through this?"

"She always does." Margret said. "I know they'll be okay and get through it, somehow."

"You're really strong for your age, Margie."

"It's because of everything that's happened, I guess." Margret said. "It's like, what's the point of holding back out of fear? But I still get really worried about my family, though."

"You want me to walk you home tonight?" Alex asked her.

"I guess it'd help me feel a little better." She told him.

That night, the group spent time at the party. "Hey, Amy, how are you?"

"I'm fine." Amy said. "Caroline left. She said she felt like Matt was putting too much pressure on their relationship."

"Something about that bothers you, doesn't it?" Rob asked.

"I know you wouldn't pressure me into anything, but do you ever feel that we'll end up like them, always at odds in our relationship?" Amy asked.

"Of course not." Rob said. "You're the only girl I've ever really liked and you're really good at everything you attempt."

"Wow. They really like each other a lot, don't they?" Margret said, watching them from a distance.

"Yeah, it seems to be getting pretty serious." Alex agreed. "Hey, are you okay? You seem sort of distant lately."

"Look, I really like you, Alex." Margret said. "But I don't want to mess up what we have. Your friendship means a lot to me."

"I don't want to mess this up, either." Alex said. "I mean, it might work out, it might not, but we'll always have each other to lean on, no matter what."

"Yeah, I remember." Margret said. "So, I guess we're okay, then?"

"We are." Alex took her hand.

They were laughing by the time they approached her house. "I still can't believe you guys thought that hot-dog eating contest last year was a good idea." Margret said.

"It was Rob's idea, and he wasn't the brightest sophomore in the class."

"Well, guess I can't judge, considering even Jeremy got involved." Margret pointed out.

"I had a really good time with you tonight, Margie."

"So did I." Margret said. "Maybe we could try going on a date sometime." She clapped a hand over her mouth, having no idea why she'd said that.

"Maybe." Alex said. "So, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure." Margret said. She kissed him on the cheek. "Good night." She headed inside. Alex watched her go in and brought a hand up to his cheek before leaving.

Margret was heading upstairs, when she noticed Elena. She hurried over to her. "What's going on?"

"Only the biggest disaster of my life." She explained. "My friend keeps trying to shut everyone out, and my boyfriend accidentally brings my father back to town."

"Uncle John's here?" Margret asked. After last time, she couldn't stand him.

"Yeah. I'll tell you everything tomorrow." Elena said. "Oh, and here. You might want this back. I don't think it works on vampires."

Margret looked at the bracelet her sister had given her. It was the same one she'd given her that morning. She headed into her room silently. She was sitting down, still looking at the bracelet, when she realized what she had to do.

That was how she found herself outside the Boarding House minutes later. She entered the house and was surprised by how big it was inside. She'd never actually been inside the house before. She was wondering where she should move, as she didn't want to startle the guys, when she heard a voice.

"Look, I told you, I'm okay. Just go back home, Elena."

"Wrong Gilbert girl." Margret said, entering the living room. Damon turned around.

"What are you doing here?"

"I snuck out of the house." She explained. "I had to see how you were. I know you cared about her, Damon." She was careful to avoid saying Rose's name, afraid she'd set him off. "And I may not have known her, but I know she cared about you, too."

"And look where that got her."

"When I lost my parents, I was crushed." Margret said. "Sometimes that pain comes back. First month was the hardest."

"Is there a point to this?" Damon asked.

"I got into crystals and herbs because I tried to reach them." Margret continued. "As we got used to having Jenna around, I pretended to be okay so I wouldn't worry Elena and Jeremy, but secretly journaled everything I felt. Then school started, and being around my friends again, it made me feel better. I realized I couldn't keep hiding how I felt, seeing how concerned they were."

"Vampires don't have friends."

"That's a lie. Sure, you may not be the nicest guy around, but some of us are still willing to be your friend." Margret said. "Like the Sheriff or Elena or me." He sat there silently for a while. "Look, I didn't mean to bother you, Damon. I'll leave now." She got up and started walk away.

"Wait." She turned around. "Sometimes it's not easy, being what I am. Heightened emotions are a real pain in the…"

"Watch it." Margret said.

"Point is, I hate it sometimes." Damon said. "I wish I could turn it all off, but I don't want to forget her, how she helped me."

Margret walked over and embraced him. "I'm sorry." She told him. He moved his hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She looked at him. "Good night, Damon." She headed out the door.

"See you around, Margret."


	31. Daddy Issues

The next day, Margret headed into the kitchen, when she noticed Elena talking with Uncle John. "So you are here. Great."

"Margret, nice to see you."

"Oh, don't give me that." Margret said. "I'm still mad after your last visit. And before you say anything, I don't buy that you're suddenly on the Save Elena train with the rest of us."

"What the hell?" They turned around. Jenna and Alaric had walked in.

"Good morning to you, Jenna. Alaric…"

"It's okay I'm confused, right? Because we were not excepting you like ever."

"Well, I got in late last night. Elena let me in." John explained.

"You know, I'm probably just gonna take off." Alaric said, leaving.

"Thanks a lot." Margret said.

"I'm still confused here." Jenna said.

"I decided to come back and stay for a while."

"Not here, you're not."

"Oh, you don't think he's going to tell her, do you?" Margret asked her sister.

"Now that you've said it, he probably will." Elena told her.

"I should think before I speak more."

"Elena, you want me to explain the situation or would you like to do the honors?" John asked.

"Okay, what's going on?" Jenna asked.

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I should have told you earlier but…" Elena began.

"I'm Elena's biological father. There, now you know." He walked out of the room. Margret watched, stunned.

"What?"

"That was my reaction when I found out, too." Margret said.

"It's a long story, you might wanna sit down." Elena told her.

After Elena had finished telling Jenna everything, Margret was on the phone with her friends. "Yeah, I don't mean to complain, but it's Uncle John."

"Ugh, what's he doing back in town? More family business?" Melody asked.

"Apparently." Margret said. "Says he wants to spend more time with Elena, which I'm sure is going to drive her further away from him."

"Well, at least he's not as bad as my Uncle Bill." Amy said. "He knows to stay away from town."

"I thought that was because he was…" Melody began.

"Shh! I don't want to get into that over the phone." Amy said. "You never know who might be listening in on our conversations."

Margret heard the door to the house open. "Oh, trust me. I think I do."

"Well, the rest of us are headed for the park." Amy said. "Good luck with your family crisis."

"Thanks, Amy." Margret said. "And good luck with your problems." She hung up the phone, feeling slightly confused and depressed.

She headed downstairs, where Elena was talking with Damon. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. Jenna's head spinning but I'm okay."

"I think I should be asking you that." Margret said, entering the room. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you're uncle was back. How are you doing with that?"

"I'm a little scared after everything I learned last time, but I'm okay." Margret said.

"At least we're in this together." Elena said.

"Did he say what he was doing here?"

"No. you know, Stefan thinks that he's telling the truth about wanting to help me."

"Do you believe him?"

"No. I don't believe him for a second." Elena said.

"Me neither."

"That makes three of us." Margret said. They all sighed.

"What are we gonna do?" Elena asked.

"Kill him." Damon said.

"Damon…"

"I'm joking." He protested. "Okay, I'm a little serious."

"Damon!"

"Please, he may be a jerk, but he's still family." Margret pointed out. "Kinda like you." Elena looked at her.

"Relax, you two. I'm not going to hurt him."

"We better speak with him." Margret said. "I know he's not our best option, but considering everything, we should at least hear his side of things."

"Okay." Elena said. "Let's go, then."

Alex and the others were at the park "Have you been able to reach Rob?" Amy asked.

"No. I think he had to work today." Alex told them.

"I hope Margret's doing okay. She really can't stand John." Melody said.

"Who can blame her? That guy's a total jerk." Alex pointed out. The others agreed with him.

Margret, Elena, and Damon walked into the Grill. "We just need answers. Please don't do anything stupid." Elena said.

"Yeah, but stupid is so much more fun."

"Damon, I mean it. All I'm asking is you try to keep it together. Be a better man."

"Okay, then."

"How do you put up with him?" Margret asked her.

"You can't always choose your friends, Margie." Elena said. They walked over to where John was standing.

"John, buddy, how have you been?"

"I've been alright, Damon. It's good to see you."

A few minutes later, the girls were sitting at a table nearby. "I can't believe we're actually doing this." Margret said.

"Well, it's not like we can hear as well as they can." Elena pointed out.

"I don't think it's working." Margret said. "Looks like Uncle John's about to walk out the door."

"It's not like they trusted each other before, though." Elena said. "I mean, remember Founder's Day?"

"How can I forget?" Margret pointed out. "You don't think he's looking to get revenge, do you?"

"Oh, trust me. I think my doppelganger already took care of that." Elena told her.

Meanwhile, Melody was practicing an acoustic in the park. Amy was trying to sketch a picture, but was struggling. "What's up?" Alex asked. "Artist block?"

"Care was supposed to meet me thirty minutes ago." Amy said.

"Maybe she just got busy with clean-up." Alex said. "That party was a mess afterward."

"Yeah, I think she's avoiding Matt." Amy said. "She's been acting pretty weird lately. I'm wondering what that hospital did to her."

"Did to who?" Melody asked, joining them. "You're not worried about you're cousin again, are you?"

"No, of course not." Amy said.

"You're a terrible liar, Amy." Melody said.

"You sound like Margret." Amy said. "Speaking of, where is she?"

"She's out with a family crisis, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. John."

"I still can't believe that guy's back." Alex said.

At the Grill, Elena and Margret were still sitting together. "Okay, this is ridiculous." Margret said. "Can we make it any more obvious we're eaves…"

"Margret…" Elena indicated that Damon was listening, even though he was talking with someone else.

"Right. This is taking some getting used to."

"I know, I almost forget myself sometimes." Elena noticed him walk away from the girl he was talking with. Margret watched as her sister confronted him.

"You totally blew her off." Elena said.

"I'm staying clear of all women at the moment." Margret rolled her eyes. Since when did Damon, of all people, become a feminist?

"You didn't have to be rude." Elena pointed out.

"Trust me, it's on the best interest of women everywhere." Her phone rang.

"Stefan? What is it?" She looked concerned. She glanced over at Margret. "Margie, I need to speak with Damon in private."

"Is everything okay?"

"Care's in a little trouble. I want to explain the details, but not here." Elena told her. Then Margret's phone rang. It was Amy.

"Go. I'll stall Amy." She waited until Elena and Damon had left the area. "Amy?"

"I think Caroline said she was going to the Grill earlier." Amy said.

"Sorry, Amy, but she's not here."

"I hope she's okay, she's never late for our meetings."

"I'm sure she is." Margret said, hoping that Caroline was safe. "Look, she can handle anything, I'm sure."

"I'm wondering if she ran off because Matt upset her or something."

"Anything's possible." Margret told her.

"Will you call me if you hear anything about her?" Amy asked.

"Of course I will. So don't start a search party just yet." Margret said. After she hung up, she waited. She didn't have to wait long, though, since she noticed Elena with Uncle John. She got up and walked closer to them.

"You're not leaving this restaurant."

"You can't tell me what to do."

"Yes I can. You want to know why? Because I'm here to make sure you stay safe."

"I've got that covered."

"Are you talking about the deal that you made with Elijah? Do you really think he's gonna keep this promise to you? Putting your faith in him was a dumb move."

"Are you saying I should put my faith in you? After everything that you've done to Damon and Stefan?" Elena shot back.

"As much as I'm on Elena's side here, I have no idea what's going on." Margret said.

"We've got a major difference of opinion." Elena said.

"We had our difference and I've made mistakes but you and I, we're family."

"You don't get to use that word. That word is off limits to you!" Elena told him.

"Fine, but it doesn't change the facts."

"You're right. Facts are facts so listen up: you may be my father but I'm never going to be your daughter, you got that?" Elena told him. "Margret, let's get out of here."

"The Salvatores are our friends, and I'd trust them over you any day." Margret told him as she walked out.

It didn't take long for her to catch up with Elena outside. "Okay, so what's going on with Caroline?"

"Tyler knows about them, and then this wolf girl and her pack showed up in town and took Caroline." Elena said. "They're holding her somewhere unless Tyler goes with them."

"Great. And I'm guessing that Damon wants to kill him now." Margret said.

"You catch on fast." Elena said. "Anyway, yeah, but the others are trying to save her."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Well, seeing how I'd get torn apart if I attempted to fight back, I guess we should just head home." Elena said.

As soon as Caroline got home, she noticed she had some messages. She called her cousin back. "Hello?"

"Amy, you there?"

"Caroline, thank goodness! What happened with you today?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Caroline said.

"Are you okay? You sound kind of…disappointed."

"It's been a really bad day."

"Do you need me to come over?"

"No, not now. My mom's still at work."

"Oh, well, I'm glad you're okay. I was worried when you didn't come by."

"I'm sorry." Caroline said. "Maybe we can hang out for a little while tomorrow."

That night, Amy was on the phone with the rest of the group. "She says she's okay, but she is upset."

"Yeah, I heard she blew off a date with Matt." Alex said. "She's probably worried she's let him down again."

"Well, she has every right to be upset." Margret said. "I mean, she's been having some friendship problems with Bonnie and Tyler."

"I still don't see why she's friends with him." Amy said. "He can be a real jerk sometimes."

"You're forgetting that my brother's friends with him now." Margret pointed out.

"True, but I thought that was a guy thing." Amy said.

"Speaking of your brother, I was at the Grill earlier. He was hanging out with Bonnie." Melody said.

"She's tutoring him." Margret said, covering for him. She knew Jeremy didn't want anyone to know about his crush on her.

"Yeah, I've noticed, too." Alex said. "I should go. My parents don't want me using the landline."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Margret said.

"Hang on, Margie. Can you stay on?" Amy asked.

"What's up?"

"I know you didn't know about Caroline earlier, but she seemed upset on the phone earlier."

"You want me to come with you, don't you?" Margret said. "Give me a minute." She put her phone down and went downstairs. She was about to head to the living room, but then noticed Elena standing very still in the kitchen.

Margret recognized the look. Her sister only froze like that when she was upset. She walked into the kitchen. "Elena?" She turned at the sound of her voice. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Elena shoved her mom's bracelet into her pocket.

"Uncle John?" She nodded.

"I'm okay, really." Elena said, brushing a tear away.

"Am I interrupting?" Margret stepped aside at the sound of Stefan's voice. Elena ran into his arms.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Did you hear that? I don't believe him, Stefan." Margret looked at her cell phone. Amy just texted her. "How's Caroline?"

"I could use your help."

"Mind if I come with you guys?" Margret asked. "Amy wants me to meet her there. I think she has the same idea."

"No problem."

A few minutes later, Margret was outside Caroline's house. Amy had gotten there before the others. "I figured we'd bring some back up." Margret told her.

"How'd you come up with that?" Amy asked.

"It was actually Stef's idea." Margret said. "He's the one who found her."

"Wow, your sister has an awesome boyfriend."

"So do you."

Caroline opened the door to her house. "What's going on?" She asked.

"I was a little bit worried about you after everything you went through tonight." Stefan told her.

"I'm fine."

"Good but just in case, I brought some back up." He told her. Elena and Bonnie entered the house.

"We're gonna slumber in."

"We haven't done it in ages."

"Go, I'll be behind you." Margret told Amy. She followed her in.

"Hey, Care."

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I know what you said on the phone, but I had to see for myself you were okay." Amy said. "And, I'm here to join the sleepover."

"We both are." Margret added. Caroline started to cry. The girls all joined in a group hug. Everyone was glad that Caroline was okay. Margret hoped that one day, she'd be able to tell Amy the truth. But for now, the five girls just held each other.


	32. Crying Wolf

Margret and Amy were still sleeping in the big chair in the corner of Caroline's room, when what sounded like an alarm clock ringing woke them. The sound of someone hitting the floor is what got them both up. "What was that?" Amy asked.

Everyone groaned and woke up then. "Can you take that outside?" Caroline asked. Elena crawled into the hallway.

"How are you feeling?" Margret asked her.

"A lot better." Caroline said. "Thanks for coming over last night, all of you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Bonnie pointed out.

"Not to mention I know things have been hard on you lately." Amy said. Then her phone rang. "I'm sorry, give me a second?" She left the room.

A few minutes later, the girls had gotten dressed. "So, anyone just want to go to the Grill?" Amy asked.

"Rob asked you out, didn't he?" Margret asked.

"He's working the morning shift." Amy said. "But the others are meeting there, too."

"Guess we're in." Bonnie said. "Caroline talked things out with Matt."

"I'm going to have to pass." Elena told them. "I need to home and start packing. My boyfriend's taking me to the lake house."

"I get it. You two could really use some alone time after everything that's happened." Margret said.

"Just do me a favor and don't tell John about this." Everyone nodded in agreement.

At the Grill, Margret was with Bonnie and Caroline. Amy had left to find out when Melody and Alex were arriving, so they had a few minutes to talk privately. "Ok. So tell me about this big witchy plan you've been cooking up." Caroline said.

"We still don't know the extent of what Elijah's up to." Bonnie said.

"Okay, I'm up to speed on everything so far." Margret told them.

"I'm gonna ask Luka to tell me what he knows."

"Is that the new kid you've been hanging around? The guy Amy keeps seeing you with?" Margret asked.

"Yeah, he's also a witch. Or rather, warlock."

"How do you know he'll tell you anything?" Caroline asked.

"I didn't say he was gonna have a choice." Bonnie said.

"I don't know about this plan." Margret said. "Isn't it risky?"

"What plan isn't?"

"As long as it doesn't involve my twin getting bitten again." Margret said. Amy showed up then.

"Okay, they'll be here in a few minutes." Caroline noticed Matt. She smiled, but he seemed upset.

"What's that about?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Caroline said. She got up to talk with him. At the same time, Amy went to talk with Rob.

"Hey, what's up with Matt?" Amy asked.

"Your cousin promised to meet him yesterday, but blew him off, saying that she was with Bonnie." Rob explained.

"But she was with Bonnie. I was with her, too." Amy said. "Margret, Bonnie, and I all slept over at her place last night."

"Was that after she left the Grill with Jeremy?"

"Wait, she was hanging out with Jeremy?" Amy asked.

"They were playing pool." Rob said. "Wonder what's up with them."

"Yeah." Amy said. Just then, she noticed Caroline crash into Tyler. Literally. "I'm beginning to wonder what's up with everyone lately."

Alex and Melody walked in just as Tyler left and Caroline had stormed off. "Whoa! What's up with them?"

"Let's just say they got into a major fight yesterday and leave it at that." Margret said.

"I wonder why she ever started hanging out with him." Alex said.

"She did say they were friends." Melody pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true." Alex said. "So, anyone up for pool?"

Hours later, the group had finished what had to have been their fifth game. "Whoa. Who knew you were so good at this?" Alex asked.

"Well, that's what you get when you decide to do girls versus guys." Melody said.

"Hey, easy, sis. One day we might just break you're winning streak." Rob told her.

"Yeah, well I say bring it on." Amy said. "You guys are no match for girl power!" She and Melody high-fived.

"How come you never play?" Alex asked Margret.

"Cause there's two of you and three of us." Margret pointed out. "Plus, I really suck at pool."

"I could teach you sometime."

"I'd like that." Margret said. She turned and saw her brother walk in. "There's my twin. I'll be right back."

"So, anyone wanna go round six?" Amy asked. The others groaned.

Margret walked over to where Jeremy and Caroline were standing. "Hey, bro. What's up?"

"Bonnie called. I wanted to help. You in?"

"When have I not been involved?" Margret pointed out. "How's it going so far?" She asked Caroline.

"She's selling it, and he's buying it." Caroline said, observing Bonnie. "She's giving him the sex smile."

"All right, Caroline. I get it." Jeremy said. He sounded really jealous.

"I didn't know Bonnie was still hanging out with Luka." Melody said.

"Well, he did help her study for that physics test." Amy pointed out.

"I think he's pretty cool, though a little mysterious." Alex said.

"And yet, you found nothing mysterious about Stefan when he came here?" Rob asked.

"At least he tries to fit in, but Luka seems like a lone wolf." Alex pointed out.

"I don't think he's doing so good." Melody said. The group noticed him collapse.

Margret was relieved when Jeremy caught him. "What kind of witch roofie was that?"

"A strong one." Bonnie said. "Let's get him out of here."

"You go ahead." Margret said. "I need to work on the cover. My friends definitely saw that."

"I'll be listening outside the door." Caroline told her. Margret headed over to her friends.

"What happened to Luka?" Melody asked.

"Sometimes he gets fainting spells." Margret lied. "It doesn't happen often, but sometimes…"

"Will he be okay?"

"Does he need to see a doctor?"

"Guys, relax." Margret said. "He'll be fine. I read about this one crystal that can cure certain conditions. I've got one in my collection at home, but he should be okay with a little rest."

"Do you need one of us to give you a ride?"

"No, I've got this." Margret said. "Bonnie and Jeremy are taking him home. I'm going to go with them, make sure he's okay."

"Are you sure?" Alex asked.

"Hey, it'll be fine." Margret told him, taking his hands. "I've been through worse than seeing some guy pass out in the middle of the day."

"I'll call you later." Alex told her. Margret left then. It was getting harder to lie to her friends.

"You alright?" Caroline asked as they headed for the car.

"Yeah." Margret told her. "How do you guys do it, lie so easily to everyone?"

"It's not that easy." Caroline said. "Look where it got me and Matt. But I know I have to protect him from this."

"I understand that. But it's difficult. At least Elena had a friend she could talk to."

"You've got a brother." Caroline pointed out. "And you've got us." Margret smiled. "Come on, they're waiting."

It was dark when they got back to Caroline's house. The group had set Luka on the ground, while the others were waiting. Caroline was carrying some candles. "We only have, like, an hour or two before my mom gets home and these are all I could find."

"Place these evenly around the room." Bonnie said. The twins got up and helped Caroline with the candles.

"I wonder what you're mom would think if she knew we were doing occult in your living room." Margret said.

"She'd probably freak, same way she would if she found out if I was a vampire." Caroline told her.

"And occult is not the same thing as magic." Bonnie said. "Witches draw power from nature and the elements, not any of that crap you read in books or see in movies."

"How does this work, anyway?" Jeremy asked.

"I'll put him in a trance and ask him questions. It's like hypnosis." Bonnie explained.

"You sure you're strong enough for this?"

"That's what the candles are for. I'll draw power from the flames."

"I'll get the matches." Caroline said.

"I got it." Suddenly, all the candles were lit. Margret jumped when the one closest to her sparked.

"Never gonna get used to that." Jeremy said.

"Oh, come on. That's pretty hot, and you know it." Caroline pointed out.

"Well, that's what happens when you're friends with a witch."

"I need a bowl of water." Bonnie told Jeremy. He left to go get it. She looked at Caroline. "Okay. What was that? "It's hot"?"

"He is so crushing on you." Caroline said. Margret wondered when she noticed.

"So?"

"So… What, you'd rather be with traitor warlock over here?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not into Luka." Bonnie told them. "It's just, you know, he understood me, and he was new and different."

"That's not always a good thing, though." Margret pointed out. "And my brother's had it bad for you for a while."

"Really?" Margret nodded.

"You've known Jeremy since forever, and you only see him one way: as Elena's brother." Caroline pointed out. "But you're a witch, and I'm a vampire. You know, it's not like we're in any position…"

"To be picky." Bonnie finished for her.

"No, to judge." She corrected.

"And he's really into you, Bonnie. I've never seen him like this before, not even when he was with Vicki." Jeremy walked back in just then, handing the water to Bonnie.

"Looks like he's waking up." Jeremy said. A few minutes later, Bonnie was using her magic on him.

"How long is this gonna take?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. He's fighting me." Bonnie said.

"Maybe it'll work if we get him to relax." Margret suggested. She pulled a purple crystal out of her pocket.

"You've been carrying that all day?" Jeremy asked her.

"Yeah. Amethyst is good for relaxation and I always carry some just in case. Would've been better if I brought lavender, too, but they shrivel quickly in heat or direct sunlight." She handed it to Bonnie, who placed it on top of Luka. Then she placed her hands on his head.

"Okay. Why are you working with Elijah?" Bonnie asked.

"Klaus. We both want him dead."

"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?"

"Because he has her and we have to get her away from him."

"Who?" Margret asked, knowing it was important. The group looked at her, tense, but were surprised when Luka answered, anyway.

"My sister." That surprised everyone.

"Why does he have her?"

"He's searching for a way to undo the curse without the doppelganger. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries." Luka said.

"What has Elijah promised you?" Bonnie asked, remembering his deals.

"If we help him kill Klaus, he'll return her to us."

"And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an original vampire?" Bonnie asked.

"He'll kill me if I tell you. Don't make me."

"It's ok, Bonnie. We can find another way." Jeremy said.

"Jer, we can't." Margret said. "Don't you care that this Elijah guy may be putting our sister in danger?"

"Yeah, but I don't want another guy to die just cause he told us this."

"How will you kill Klaus?" Bonnie asked as they debated.

"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance."

"After the sacrifice?" Caroline asked.

"But that means Elena…" Margret realized.

"No. We have to find another way." Jeremy said.

"How?" Margret asked. The four of them looked at each other, not responding.

A few minutes later, Caroline and the others had put Luka back in the car. "Oh, wait." Margret reached over and pulled the purple crystal off him. "We don't want him to suspect that…"

"Got it." Caroline said. "So, you want a ride or are you going back with Bonnie?"

"I'll be with you in a minute." Margret said. "I want to check in on her before we go."

When she headed inside, Bonnie was on the phone. "The sacrifice is part of Elijah's plan." She looked at her phone, then hung up.

"Well, we're going to get going." Margret said. "I'll see you at home, Jer."

"Will Luka remember anything?" Jeremy asked.

"He'll know he lost consciousness, that's all." Bonnie said.

"Well, that's good news." Margret said. She went back outside to Caroline. "Okay, let's do this."

They headed to the Grill and dropped Luka off. "How'd you get in there without…oh, right. Man, this supernatural stuff is hard to keep straight sometimes." Margret said.

"That, and it helps that my ex gave me a key." Caroline said.

"I thought you guys were still together."

"It's complicated." Caroline told her. She started the engine and they headed for Margret's house. "So, how do you think Jeremy and Bonnie are doing?"

"I will admit, it's a little weird. I mean, he is my twin brother. But if he's happy with her, I'm happy for him." Margret said. "Bonnie's a good friend, you know?"

"Yeah, the best." Caroline said. "So speaking of love lives, I noticed you and Alex were getting kind of close."

"He's amazing." Margret said. "I really like him, but it's still a little awkward between us."

"It's bound to be at first." Caroline said. "I mean, he's the first guy you've developed feelings for."

"Yeah, but he's also my closest friend." Margret said. "And seeing how everyone else is doing with theirs, I just don't want to mess anything up with him. But even if we were together, I'd still have to hide our secret."

"Sometimes if you like a guy, it shouldn't matter if you're protecting us." Caroline said.

"Look, I'd never betray you're secrets or your trust, but I'm still not ready to start dating yet." Margret said.

"I can respect that. Heck, I've sworn off guys until we can get through this mess." Caroline said. Margret laughed.

"Maybe that's for the best."


	33. The Dinner Party

Early the next morning, Margret woke up to her cell phone ringing. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Margie." She heard her sister say on the other end of the line. "Sorry it's early, but I had to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot." Margret said, rubbing her eyes and trying to wake up.

"What if someone you knew had hidden part of his past from you?"

Margret was wide awake now. "Does this have to do with Stefan?"

"I was reading this journal I found at the lake house last night and he wrote that Stefan had attacked him."

"I think you should let him explain things." Margret told her.

"I know."

"Did you also know Tyler left town?"

"No, I didn't." Elena said. "I guess those other werewolves made mistake when they tried to get him to kidnap me yesterday."

"Wait, they did what?" Margret asked.

"I'm okay, I swear." Elena told her. "A little shaken, but they didn't get to me. Anyway, I should go. We got into a fight last night and I don't want this trip to end badly for us."

A few hours later, Margret met Alex at the Grill. "Hey."

"Hey." Alex said. "Why'd you run out last night?"

"We ended up having to take Luka to the hospital." Margret lied. "But he's better now."

"Good, cause I was worried something may have happened." Alex said. Margret glanced over his shoulder and noticed Bonnie and Jeremy talking and smiling. Alex turned around and noticed them.

"He sure seems happy."

"Yeah, what's the deal with them?" Alex asked her. "Are they seeing each other now? How are you handling it?"

"One at a time, Alex." Margret said. "He's had a crush on her for a while now. I think it's cool if they are."

"I'm guessing your big sister doesn't know yet." Alex said.

"You guessed right." Margret said. "But it's not my place to tell her."

"Well, I'm glad everything's okay." Alex said.

"So am I." Margret admitted.

"So, you wanna hang out tonight?" Alex asked. "We could meet back here later."

"Are you asking me out?" Margret asked him.

"Yeah, I am."

"I think it's a great idea." Margret said. "Pick me up around six."

"Okay." Alex said. He got up. "I've gotta go, I have practice."

"Okay, later." Margret said as he left. As she watched him leave, she noticed a group of people talking at a nearby table. She realized it was Damon and her history teacher. She watched as Jenna and a man she didn't recognize join them. After a few minutes, the group separated and left.

She walked over to Damon. "What's going on?" She asked him.

"I'm guessing you saw us talking."

"Seriously, what is going on, Damon?" Margret asked.

"We're planning to take Elijah down." Damon said. "Or rather, I am."

"How are you going to take down an Original vampire?" Margret asked him.

"My girlfriend invited him over to my place tonight. Your aunt and Ric will be there, too. Trying to keep things normal."

"So that's your temporary girlfriend." Margret said. He looked at her. "It's okay, I know you're into my sister. This stays between us."

"Anyway, I know a way to take care of this. I'd invite you, but I don't want to put you at risk, too."

"Actually, I have a date tonight." Margret said. "But I'm still worried he may try to hurt Elena."

"I'll let you know everything that's going on with us." Damon told her. "Trust me, none of us want anything to happen to her."

"Thanks." Margret said.

That night, Margret had picked out her date outfit. She decided on a green sundress with heather-grey leggings and flats to match. There was a knock on her door. "Come in." She said, adjusting the last clip in her hair.

"Wow, you look nice. Where are you going?" Her brother asked.

"I've got a date with Alex." Margret told him. "I really want this to work out, you know?"

"Of course."

"Anyway, what brings you up here?" Margret asked. "You never come up here for no reason."

"Just thought I should let you know, Bonnie's coming over tonight." Jeremy told her. "I'm helping her practice, since she was feeling tired from yesterday's spell."

"That's cool." Margret said. Just then, the doorbell rang. "Well, see you later, bro."

"Good luck tonight." Jeremy told her.

She answered the front door. "Wow. You look amazing." Alex told her.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." Margret said.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"So, how's everything going at home?" Alex asked as they started to walk. "Anything new?"

"Apart from the fact my brother's on a date, too, not really."

"You twins are kinda similar, aren't you?"

"To be fair, neither of us knew the other had a date until we told each other." Margret said.

Later on, Margret and Alex were sitting at the Grill. "Yeah, it's kind of weird seeing Jeremy and Bonnie together, but I'm still happy for them, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. I had the same reaction when I found out Rob was into Amy." Alex said.

"Sorry, should I change the subject?" Margret asked, wondering if she was boring him.

"No, you know I'm always here to listen to you." Alex said. "Besides, if we weren't talking about this, we'd probably be talking about the sports game."

Margret laughed. "You're probably right." They talked for a while, then Margret felt her phone vibrate. She glanced at the message:

There's a slight issue with the plan, but we're working on it-D

Margret looked up and saw that Alex had gone to the bathroom. She texted Damon back.

What is going on over there?

She was texted back instantly:

If a vampire uses the dagger, he'll be killed with the other person

"Hey, you okay?" Margret looked up and was surprised Alex had returned.

"Yeah, I'm just concerned about Elena." Margret said. "I'm worried she may be in…" She paused, considering her words carefully. "I'm worried she could be in trouble."

"Yeah, what's up with her, anyway?"

"I can't really explain, but I have the feeling someone's out to get her." Margret said. "The others are doing everything they can to protect her."

"That explains so much."

"I'm sorry, this date hasn't really been what you were expecting." Margret said.

"Hey, that's okay. Nothing is going to be perfect." Alex pointed out.

"How come you're always so cool with everything?" Margret asked. "I mean, even when your date plans go wrong…"

"When you really like someone, all that small stuff doesn't matter." Alex said.

"Wow, who knew you were so…deep?" Margret asked. Alex reached over and grabbed her hand. Just then, she received another text. She looked at it with her free hand:

We need you to get to the lake house ASAP-E.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go. It's my sister." Margret said. She got up.

"I understand." Alex told her. "Go for it."

"But…"

"Hey, I had a great time hanging out with you tonight." Alex said. "Besides, it's not like we're not going to go out on another date."

"Thanks." Margret said. She kissed him on the cheek before leaving. As she headed out of the Grill, she noticed a familiar blue car pull up.

"Need a ride?" She heard Damon ask.

"How'd you know?"

"Elena found out if the dagger doesn't stay in place, the Original will wake up and I've got the feeling he's going to pay her a visit." Damon explained.

"I'm in." Margret said. "I promise, I'll stay hidden." She got into the car.

Which is how she found herself hiding in her parents old room at the lake house. She flinched when she heard something hit the door downstairs. "It's okay, he can't hurt you as long as you stay in here." Damon said.

"How do you…" Margret began, nearly panicking.

"We need to be invited in or we can't enter." Damon told her.

"So that part is true. I thought Jeremy was kidding at the time." Margret said. "It was when he was dating that dark haired girl."

"Look, do you trust Elena?"

"With my life." Margret told him.

"Then trust that she knows what she's doing here." Damon told her.

As soon as she heard the sound of something hard fall, she ran out of the room. Damon followed her. She found Stefan and Elena on the ground and a greyed-body next to it. She recognized him from earlier at the Grill.

"So this is the guy that was after her."

"Not anymore, he's not." Damon said. "Little tip. Don't pull the dagger out."

"Let's get him out of here."

"Are you okay?" Margret asked, looking at Elena.

"Yeah, but I don't feel too good."

"Help me get her to the car." Stefan told her. "Damon, you take care of…"

"I got it." He told him.

They met back in the basement of the Boarding House. Damon picked up a white rock that seemed to be on Elijah. "What do we have here? A little moonstone bar of soap. I'll hold on to this."

"I think you people should get rid of it." Margret said. "I mean, that thing's caused all this trouble."

"So, that's it. I mean, as long as we keep the dagger in there, then he stays dead." Elena said.

"Pretty much."

"Ok, then... Good night." They started to walk out of the room. "You know, you guys want me to fight, fine, I'll fight. But if we're gonna do this, you can't keep anything from me anymore." She told them. "From this moment on, we're doing it my way."

"That seems fair."

"You know I'll support you no matter what, sis." Margret pointed out.

"Okay."

"Okay." Elena left the room.

"Seems like she's had a change of attitude." Damon said. "How did you get through to her?"

"I told her a little story about when I was making the wrong decisions and somebody showed me there was a better way." Stefan told him.

"Lexi?"

"Wow, you know some pretty weird people."

"What are you still doing here?"

"Uh, I need a ride home." Margret pointed out. "I told Jeremy I'd be home…two hours ago." She sighed. "Jenna's going to kill me."

"Hey, what's going on down here?" Alaric asked, entering the room.

"Yeah, I kinda got dragged into this." Margret said.

"You wouldn't mind dropping her off, would you?"

"Of course not. After what John did, taking her home is the least of my problems."

"Thanks for helping her."

"Hey, I'm always looking out for you guys." Damon said. Margret left the room, hoping that their problems would be over for now.


	34. Girls' Night Out

Amy and Rob had walked through the school. "We've booked a band at the Grill tonight."

"Really?" Amy asked. "So they're doing live entertainment now?"

"Well, business hasn't exactly been…busy." Rob told her.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Amy said.

"So, you in?"

"I don't know. Since the others are kind of down, we thought we'd do a girls' night." Amy told him.

"I understand. It'd be cool if you stopped by, though." Rob told her.

"I'll run it by the others." Amy said. They noticed Matt and Caroline in the hallway. Matt walked away from her.

"Did he just…"

"He totally did." Amy said. "See what I mean? My cousin and the other girls are all having some kind of problem."

"Yeah, I understand. Remember that time I was late for basketball practice?" Rob asked. "I was helping Alex deal with a problem then. He used to get picked on a lot."

"I remember." Amy said.

"Well, this time was especially bad and he needed someone to talk to. He's like my brother, you know." Rob said. "I'll be working tonight, so either way…"

"I know." Amy told him. "Anyway, I'll see you, I guess." She gave him a quick peck before walking off.

Margret got out of Stefan's car as soon as they were parked. Since Jeremy had taken off early, she had to call Elena and Stefan for a ride. "Why is she still here? She was free." Elena said.

"She wants what we want... Klaus's death. Maybe she sees us as her only chance." Stefan said.

"Or maybe she's trying to lure you and Damon back into her web. I want her gone." Elena told him.

"Wait a minute, Katherine got out?" Margret asked. "I thought that tomb was spelled shut."

"Elijah compelled her to stay there and daggering him undid it." Elena explained.

"Okay…" Margret said. "I'm a little slow on the Original vampire thing, but they can compel other vampires, right?" She nodded.

"I don't like this any more than either of you." Stefan said. "But shouldn't we try to figure out why she's staying?"

"How? All she does is lie." Elena pointed out.

"While that's true, she's got a point. We don't know anything about Klaus. She does." Stefan said.

"Right, but that doesn't mean I want her shacking up with you."

"Elena Marie Gilbert, you're jealous." Margret realized. Elena was blushing, and Margret wasn't sure if that was because she revealed her full name to her boyfriend or because she was right.

"Katherine just makes me so angry." Elena said. "I trust the guys, but she is really manipulative."

"Margie, why don't you go on ahead? I've got this."

"Okay. See you later, Lena." Margret headed into the school and found her brother.

"Hey, thanks for ditching me this morning."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to be there for Bonnie." Jeremy told her. "I'm a little worried about her."

"Who her?" They looked up and saw that Bonnie was next to his locker.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jeremy asked her.

"Still a little freaked." Bonnie said. Jeremy pulled her into his arms.

"Did something happen last night?" Margret asked.

"Dr. Martin took away my magic." Bonnie told her.

"Well, he certainly has a good sense of timing there. Is there any more bad news?" Margret asked.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Jeremy asked.

"He'll explain." Margret said, leaving the group. They didn't even notice that Stefan had been standing there until she pointed it out.

"Margret, there you are!" Melody ran over to her.

"Hey, Melody."

"So, how was your date?"

"Is everyone going to press me on that?" Margret wondered.

"Oh, come on. How'd it go?" Melody asked.

"It was pretty good. I had a family crisis in the middle of it, but he was nice about it."

"You two should so end up together." Melody told her.

"I don't know. Hey, are you and Amy still coming over?"

"You know we wouldn't miss girls night." Melody said. The bell rang. "See you later."

That night, the six of them were hanging out in the kitchen. "Chinese food or pizza?" Caroline asked.

"Like you have to ask." Elena pointed out.

"I will get it." Caroline took out her phone, then noticed a picture of her with Matt.

"I'll do it." Bonnie said.

"So, you two fighting again?" Amy asked.

"Yeah."

"You know, maybe you're better off without him, Care." Melody said. "I mean, look at me. I don't have a boyfriend and I couldn't be happier."

"True, but you're a bit of a tomboy." Margret pointed out. "Besides, I'm just confused about the whole thing with Alex."

"Well, what are we going to do about this movie situation?" Caroline asked the group. "What about "The Notebook"?"

"Caroline, how many times have you seen that movie?" Elena pointed out.

"That is so not the point."

"I don't think watching a chick flick is going to get our minds off our problems." Amy said.

"Hey, at least it's better than Twilight." Care pointed out.

"What about that Honey movie?" Melody suggested.

"You're still obsessed with that one?" Margret asked, surprised. Jenna walked in then

"What's going on?" She asked them.

"Girls' night." Elena said. "How are you doing?"

"You heard about my fight with Ric." Jenna said.

"He feels terrible." Elena said. The girls looked at Margret. She signed that this was not a good time to explain and they nodded.

"Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?"

"No. No, this is about us girls hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to want to talk, or..." Elena explained.

"Because I am a winner when it comes to successful relationships." Caroline said.

"You, too?" Jenna asked.

"You have no idea."

"Hey, you'll be okay, Care." Amy said.

"It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me."

"To play devil's advocate, maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you." Caroline said. "Maybe he is just trying to protect you."

"She's right, you know." Margret said. "I mean, sometimes we have to hide things to protect people we care about." Elena looked over at her, understanding.

"Well, that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does." Jenna said.

"Sometimes it's harder than that."

"Not if it's somebody you care about, it isn't."

"If I remember, didn't you hide our family history from Elena?" Margret intervened. "I'm just saying, no one's innocent. We've all hidden secrets from each other before." Melody and Amy nodded in agreement.

"You know what we need? Dancing. There is a band at the grill." Caroline said.

"I'm in." Bonnie said. Everyone else agreed, so they all headed for the Grill.

By the time they got there, it was still pretty crowded. "Wow, this place looks awesome." Melody said.

"I need a drink." Jenna left the group.

"That was weird." Amy said. "Speaking of…" Matt was near the group.

"Hey, Matt." He avoided Caroline and went back to work.

"Things just got real awkward." Bonnie said.

"No kidding. What's that all about, anyway?" Amy asked.

"He thinks that she's into someone else and apparently, she's been sending some mixed messages." The group turned. Rob had shown up while they were talking and Alex was right next to him.

"Yeah, but obviously Care still has feelings for Matt." Amy said.

"This is just too much drama." Melody said. "I thought the point of this was to forget about boy problems."

"Mel, problems don't just go away." Margret pointed out. "If you don't deal with them…"

"Then how do you get anywhere in life?" Alex finished. She looked at him, surprised he said exactly what she was thinking.

"He said the ball's in your court." Bonnie pointed out, after catching Caroline glance at Matt again.

"Yeah, but I can't do anything about it." Caroline said.

"Why not? All you do is talk about how much you care about him."

"And if you don't do something, you're going to lose him." Amy added.

"Yeah, but I am still keeping so many secrets." Caroline admitted. "And I'd lose him even if I did tell them."

"Alaric's in the same boat with Jenna and maybe that's our mistake." Elena said. "We're trying to protect the people that we love by keeping them out of it, but in the end, we're hurting them anyway."

"Yeah, but at least we can blame that one situation on our uncle." Margret said. Elena looked at her. "I have a feeling he's the reason they're fighting." She whispered to her. The next thing she knew, she was holding Caroline's jacket.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked. Caroline headed to the stage and took the microphone.

"Hey, everybody. Let's hear it for the band! Weren't they awesome?"

"What in the world is she doing?" Amy asked.

"She's your cousin, can't you do something?"

"Once she plans something, that's usually it." Amy said. "It's so hard to tell what she'll do sometimes."

"So there's this guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him. Like it's so easy." Caroline was saying.

"Has she lost it?"

"No, she just wants to get this sorted out once and for all." Margret said. "I mean, who wouldn't. After everything she's been through in the last few weeks." When she looked back at the stage, Caroline was talking to one of the band members.

Then she started singing. Everyone else just looked at her. Matt looked over at Rob, who practically had to push him to go to her. "He really needs to learn to take a hint." Rob said.

"No kidding." Margret said. Then she noticed she was holding Alex's hand. She dropped it in surprise, not realizing she'd grabbed it while Care was on stage.

"Wow, you're cousin is really good."

"Her first career dream was to be a rock star." Amy pointed out.

"Well, she can sing back-up for me anytime." Melody said.

A few minutes later, the group sat at a table together. "I'm glad that they're back together. When Care starts moping, it's not pretty." Amy said.

"Yeah, I just hope they don't spend forever in there." Rob said. "We've still got a shift to finish."

"Speaking of happy couples," Melody began. Margret hoped she wouldn't ask about her and Alex again. "What's up with Bonnie and your brother?"

"Well, he's had it bad for her for a while now." Margret told them. "Between us, I think she may have been crushing on him, too."

"Wow." Melody said. "So, they're really happy?"

"Seems that way." Margret said.

"I think it's great they're together." Alex said. "Jeremy's a nice guy."

"Not to mention the last guy she went out with was a jerk." Margret said.

"Yeah, we could all use a nice guy like that." Melody said.

"This coming from Miss Feminsim?" Amy teased.

"I'm just saying, I'm not ready for a relationship right now." Melody told them. "But when I am, I hope I have a nice boyfriend like you two." Everyone else was blushing by now.

"Somehow, I've always known you were a romantic deep down." Rob told her.

"Shut up, Robbie." Melody said, playfully punching her brother in the arm.

Suddenly, the lights started flickering. Margret looked around. She saw Bonnie talking with Dr. Martin, who looked furious. She didn't see Elena anywhere. All she knew was they had to get out of there.

Then, the lights broke. "Whoa, what is happening?" Amy asked. The bar caught fire.

"We have to get out of here!" Margret called over the roar of the flames.

The five of them rushed out of the Grill. "Amy, you come with us." Melody said. "We'll drop you at your place."

"I'll take Margret home." Alex said.

"Okay."

Alex drove back to Margret's house. As soon as he pulled up to the driveway, he turned to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. We all got out of there safely." Margret pointed out.

"That was crazy."

"Maybe the Grill needs a sprinkler system or a fire alarm." Margret said. "I better check and make sure Elena and the others got out safe."

"Hey, be careful." Alex said.

"No problem." Margret told him. She got out of the car.

When she entered the house, she found most of the group at the bottom of the stairway. "Everything's taken care of." Stefan told them.

"What the heck happened in there?" Margret asked.

"Margret, thank goodness. For a second, I thought you didn't make it out." Elena embraced her.

"Easy, sis." Margret said. "We all escaped when the Grill caught fire. My boyfriend drove me home."

"Sorry to interrupt the moment, but I'm guessing you're going to want this back." Katherine handed Elena her necklace. "Your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean."

Elena turned to the guys. "You're going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets home."

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

"This doesn't change the way I feel about you." Elena told her.

"I don't like you, either, if we're going to be open and frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead but if we're going to try to take on Klaus, we kinda need you to be alive." Katherine pointed out. "So I'm not a threat to you, Elena. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that." She left the house.

"She helped you guys?"

"It's a long story." Damon told her.

"You guys can tell me tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Margret told them. "It's been a really long day."

She went upstairs. She saw the lights in her brother's room flicker. Not sure what was going on, she decided to go inside. "Whoa, what's going on?" She asked.

"I got my powers back." Bonnie told her.

"Wow." Margret said. "That's amazing."

"It happened during the fight." Jeremy told her. "He grabbed her and her powers returned. She also knows how to take care of the Klaus problem."

"Thank goodness." Margret said. "I just hope this puts an end to all the drama around here." She left the room.


	35. The Last Dance

A few days later, Margret and her group were in the school's hallway. "Was there supposed to be a point to that lesson, cause I'm not seeing it." Amy told them.

"No kidding." Melody said. "It's like he forgot his lesson plans or something."

"I'd guess it's because he and Aunt Jenna broke up, but in comparison to everything else that's happened over the last few days, it seems normal to me." Margret said.

"John's still around?" Alex guessed.

"Yeah, we've had to deal with him for a while." Margret said.

"Hey." Rob came over to them. "What are you guys talking about?"

"History class." Melody told him.

"Yeah, it was weirder than usual today." Amy explained.

"Oh, I know." Rob said. "I have it first period, remember? Not only did Mr. Saltzman come in late, he didn't seem to know what he was doing."

"I see." Margret said. She was starting to get the feeling something was up, and she knew that usually involved her supernatural friends.

The group sat down in the cafeteria. "I think that there's more going on with him than just a break-up." Margret told them.

"What do you mean?" Melody asked. "You think it might have to do with psychology?"

"Not exactly." Margret hesitated. She knew she couldn't tell them the truth.

"Well, what do you think is going on?" Alex asked.

"Come on, don't leave us in suspense."

"Hey, guys, knock it off." Amy said. "There are some things that are too hard to talk about."

"Thank you, Amy." Margret said. She looked up and noticed Jeremy and Bonnie talking. "Actually, I'm going to go. I think I brought my twin's bag instead of mine."

"You should really get a new backpack." Amy said. Margret barely heard her as she walked away.

Jeremy was leaving by the time she got there, but Elena had joined them. "Hey, I just heard from Jeremy. You doing okay with John?"

"He's okay, though I wish Jenna would come home." Margret told her.

"I'm sorry. I feel so responsible for what happened." Elena said.

"It's not your fault." Bonnie pointed out. "You didn't know."

"Well, it's not every day my vampire mother shows up out of the blue." Elena pointed out.

"So, you guys going to the dance tonight?" Margret asked.

"Yeah." Bonnie said. "Your brother, however, not so happy about needing to dress up."

"I don't blame him. These decade themes can be so redundant sometimes." Margret pointed out. Just then, a girl from their class showed up.

"Hey, Elena, there you are. Ok. This is going to sound freaky, but this totally hot guy just asked me to ask you if you're going to the dance tonight."

"Tell him she has a boyfriend." Bonnie said.

"You could at least meet him. He'll be at the dance tonight." Margret rolled her eyes, but the girl's next words threw her into shock. "Look for him. His name is Klaus."

They all stared at her. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Elena asked.

"I know the name's stupid, but I swear he's hot." The girl said. Margret looked around, but all she saw were other students, her friends, and in the corner of the room, Stefan.

"Where is he? Is he here?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." The girl told them. "But he wants to know if you'll save him the last dance. How cute is that?" Margret looked back at her.

"Is she…" She began to whisper.

"Yeah, she's under compulsion." Bonnie whispered back.

That afternoon, Margret went with the girls to the Boarding House. She'd been too scared to go home by herself and she wasn't heading to Amy's until later to get ready with the girls. Elena and Bonnie had explained what happened to the guys, while Margret just stood close by.

"So we go to the dance, we find him." Damon said.

"Really? How are we going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like." Stefan pointed out.

"He compelled that girl at school to warn us he's coming." Margret said.

"I guess it's not as safe as you guys thought, huh?" Stefan was saying to the girls.

"I feel like my life has turned into a horror movie."

"Hey, we're not going to let him hurt anyone." Elena pointed out, putting her arms around him. Just then Alaric entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move." Damon told him.

"Okay, so we find him and then what?" Elena asked. "What's our plan of attack?"

"Me. I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I can channel." Bonnie explained. "If you can find him, I can kill him."

"That's not going to be that easy. I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around." Alaric pointed out.

"Alaric has a point. I mean, what if he..." Damon rushed toward Bonnie, but she used her powers to throw him to the other side of the room.

"Wow." Margret said. "You're getting good."

"Thanks." Bonnie said. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."

"I can't believe these theme dances sometimes." Melody said. She was wearing a pink dress and white boots. She was trying to adjust her headband.

"Uh, Melody? I 'm pretty sure go-go boots started in the seventies." Amy said, running a hand over her skirt. She had chosen a green and yellow striped top, while her skirt remained a solid yellow.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be debating this all night if we keep talking about it." Margret said. She was wearing a blue and white long-sleeved dress with little polka dots all over it.

"Let me guess, matching gloves or wristbands?" Amy asked Melody.

"Definitely bands. I'm supposed to DJ one of the sets." Melody told them. "It's kinda hard to scratch a record when I'm wearing gloves."

"So they actually got a real turntable for this one?" Margret asked, putting the hair curler down.

"Yeah, one of my cousins lent it to them."

Margret took a glance at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was curly and she looked like a character from a sixties movie. She only hoped that things wouldn't turn on them. She looked at her charm bracelet, grateful she still had the vervain tucked inside the sealed locket. She'd clasped it shut for good after finding out everything.

"Hey, Margret?" She turned around. The girls had finished getting ready. "What's wrong?" Melody asked, noticing her concerned expression.

"It's nothing." Margret said. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about the dance."

"Well, I know one guy that'd be lucky to see you like this." Melody said. Margret blushed.

"Speaking of the guys, they should be here any minute." Amy pointed out. "Let's get downstairs."

The group showed up at the dance early. "Looks like you're set to go on in ten minutes." Rob told Melody.

"Okay."

"Hey, you're not getting butterflies, are you?" Amy asked.

"Of course not." Melody said. "I never get stage fright."

"Hey, don't jinx it." Margret said.

"Everything will be fine." Alex told her. "Come on." They headed out to the dance floor.

After an hour, Margret noticed the others entering the gym. "Looks like they finally made it." She said. "Could you guys give me a minute?" She started to move closer to the group, when the girl from before went up to speak.

"Thanks for being here, everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight." Margret was just behind them when she spoke. "This is for Elena. From Klaus." She looked surprised. She glanced back to where her friends were and headed toward them.

"I have no idea who this guy is, but he must be really twisted if he thinks he's got a shot with Elena." Amy was saying as Margret arrived.

"No kidding." Melody said. "Guys who do dedications are either desperate or complete nerds."

"Hey, Margie. What's up?"

"Melody, think you can take over being a DJ for a while?" Margret asked.

"What's this about?"

"Nothing, I just think you'd be a better DJ than most of these guys." She said. "Besides, I heard one of them talking behind your back the other day."

"Those guys have no respect!" Melody hurried off.

"Are you okay, Margie?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just you seem a little…" He turned to Alex for help.

"Jumpy." He supplied.

"I swear, I'm fine." Margret said. "Come on, let's dance."

"Speaking of weird…" Amy began, she looked over her shoulder. "When did they stop fighting?" The others followed her gaze and saw Caroline and Matt together.

"I think a better question is when did they happen?" Rob said, looking elsewhere. Margret looked in the same direction and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Then she noticed Elena dancing…with Damon.

She knew how it must look to her friends. "They didn't happen. They're just friends." Margret told them.

"Really?"

"Oh, come on, guys! Seriously?" Margret said. "One, she's already got a boyfriend and two, Damon's way older than her."

"He doesn't look that old." Amy pointed out.

"You have no idea." Margret told her.

"You know, maybe we could go to my place afterward." Alex told Margret. "Rob's coming, too."

"I'd like too, Alex, but I can't." Margret said. "I kind of have other plans."

"Hey, I get it. You staying with the girls?"

"No, I wanted to check in on Jeremy." Margret said. "He's been on edge lately."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask what's up with him." Alex said. "I didn't want to seem intrusive."

"You're so nice all the time."

"Well, it's hard not to be nice to a good friend." Alex pointed out.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I hate to leave you out here on your own, but something is up with Matt." Rob said.

"Go for it." Amy said. "He's your friend." He kissed her on the cheek and headed toward him.

"Hey, man."

"Oh, hey." Matt said.

"What is up with you and Caroline?"

"Well, I just found out she's been hiding some things from me." Matt said. "And she's just a lot different than I thought she was."

"Look, I kind of get it." Rob said. "It was awkward when I started dating Amy, but then I noticed that whatever flaws she had, she was still a good person."

"I don't know."

"Hey, I say you should give her another chance, no matter how bad her secret it is." Rob said. Matt seemed hesitant. "At least think about it." He walked away.

"What was that all about?" Amy asked.

"Apparently Caroline has a secret."

"Yeah, she mentioned that the night the band showed up." Amy said. "Well, it can't be too terrible."

"Matt seems to think so."

"I'm sure they'll work it out." Amy told him. "He's all Care really has right now."

Back on the dance floor, Margret and Alex were dancing. "Sorry to break up the moment, but do you mind?" Melody asked them.

"No problem." Margret said. "Alex?"

"I'm okay with it."

"I was just with Rob. He said that Caroline was still hiding secrets from him." Melody said. "He found out, but now he isn't sure about things."

"Hey, sometimes people keep secrets to protect others." Margret said. "And Caroline's been so worried about how Matt would take it if he found out." And for a good reason, she thought. It explained why it seemed he was trying to keep his distance from her.

She noticed her brother leaving the gym. He looked kind of worried when he left. "Excuse me, I have to go." She followed him out into the hallway.

"Jeremy?" She called. She was looking for him when she bumped into someone. "Sorry." The person turned around.

"Margret, what are you doing out here?"

"I saw my brother leave. He looked upset about something." Margret said. "I haven't seen him look like that since the accident."

"I'm looking for him, too. He was with Elena before he left, and your right, he does seem upset."

"Jeremy?" Margret noticed him by the lockers.

"Hey."

"What's going on?" Stefan asked him.

"It's nothing."

"That's a lie." Margret said. "Come on, Jer. We can talk about anything."

"Just promise that this won't get back to Elena." He told Margret. She nodded. "Okay, you know how Bonnie said she could take down Klaus? Turns out, there's a price for all that power."

Margret knew that sometimes magic came with restrictions and consequences, but this seemed different somehow. "What kind of price?" Stefan asked.

"If she uses all that power, channels it against him, it'll kill her." Jeremy explained. "And I don't know what we can do or how to save her. She's determined to kill him no matter what."

"Isn't there something those spirits can do to protect her?" Margret asked. "Keep her from dying while doing the spell?"

"I don't even know if that's possible." Jeremy said. "I just…I can't lose her. I don't know what else to do."

"Margret, why don't you head back inside? I'll take care of this." Stefan told her. Margret nodded, and headed back down the hall.

She wondered if they'd even be able to save their witch friend at all. She didn't want to think about what would happen if they couldn't. The whole group had been through so much together.

"Margie?" She looked up and saw Alex. "There you are." He noticed her expression. "Is everything okay?" He asked, concerned.

"No, nothing is okay." Margret said. She knew it was risky, but she had to tell him part of the truth. "You know that guy, Klaus?"

"The guy who did that dedication?"

"Yeah, I know it seems like he has a thing for Elena, but it's a trick." Margret said. "The truth is, he's out to hurt her. Well, her and Bonnie. That dedication was directed as a threat."

"Whoa, that's kinda twisted." Alex said.

"He's been threatening them for almost a month." Margret added. "And I'm so worried that my friends will get really hurt or worse." Alex held her.

"I can't stand guys that would threaten a girl-no matter what the reason is." He told her. "I'd offer to kick his butt, though…"

"Yeah, that would be a very bad idea." Margret told him.

"I'm sure that they'll find some way to defend themselves." Alex said. "Your sister and that friend of hers are really smart. Plus, I'm pretty sure Bon's a black belt."

"I just wish I could do something. I feel so useless sometimes." Margret admitted.

"Sometimes just being there is enough." Alex pointed out. She smiled, remembering what she'd told the group before.

"Thanks, Alex. You're always there when I need you. How'd you find me, anyway?" She asked as they walked back to the gym, hand-in-hand.

"The others told me that you'd left in kind of a hurry, looking for Jeremy." Alex explained. "I guessed the direction he'd go."

"You're pretty good at that."

When they got back to the dance, Melody went over to them. "Hey, where's your brother?"

"He'll be back soon." Margret told her. "He's really upset about things though. Think you can dance with him, get his mind off it?"

"Of course." Melody said. A few minutes later, she spotted Jeremy entering the gym. She headed over to him. "Are you okay?" She asked. "You look like you've been in a fight."

"Some idiot in the hall tried to start one." Jeremy told her. "I'm fine, I swear."

"You're foot's not broken, is it?" Melody asked.

"No." He said, giving her a what are you talking about look.

"Well, they say dancing's a good way to vent emotion."

"Tell that to my sister." Jeremy said. Melody pulled him onto the dance floor. A few minutes later, he saw his twin head toward them. "Excuse me." He walked over to her.

"Dance with me, we need to look normal here." Margret pointed out.

"What's going on?"

"Apparently, Klaus has possessed Mr. Saltzman." She told him while they moved across the dance floor.

"What?"

"Yeah, the others are doing everything they can." Margret said. "I just ran into Elena and she was really freaked out about it."

"No kidding. I'm about to have a panic attack right here!" Jeremy told her.

"She said Bonnie was with Damon last time she saw her." Margret told him.

"Then we better go find him." Jeremy said. They left the dance and started looking for him.

"Okay, think. If you were a vampire, where would you be?" Margret asked.

"Inflicting misery somewhere." Jeremy said.

"Would you be serious?" Margret asked.

"I am. Look, I know you like Damon, but he's not exactly the nicest guy around."

"I know." Margret said. "But like it or not, he's still a friend and right now, I think we're safer with him than we are alone with Klaus, I mean Alari…I mean…man, I hate the whole body-switching thing."

"Come on." Jeremy said. They found Damon outside by the car. "Hey, where's Bonnie?" Jeremy asked him.

"Jeremy, there's something you need to know about Bonnie." He told him.

"Please tell me she didn't use her powers against him." Margret said.

"Both of you, come with me." Damon told the twins.

He opened the door, where they found Bonnie unconscious. "Oh, no!"

"It's not what it looks like." Damon said. "Klaus was trying to kill her by forcing her to use her magic."

"And it worked?" Jeremy asked.

"No. She used a spell to protect herself." Damon said. "We had to make it look believable."

"So, she's alive." Margret realized. "And you did this to help protect her?"

"Yeah, but your sister doesn't know about it yet and there's a high chance she'll be pissed at me when I get home."

"So, what do we do with her?" Jeremy asked.

"Let's get her to the witch house." Margret told him. They got into the car.

A few hours later, Elena was in the Salvatore's living room, talking with Bonnie on the webcam. Margret entered the room.

"Elena, I'm so sorry." She heard Bonnie saying.

"It's ok, it's ok. I just needed to see you from myself." Elena said.

"There wasn't enough time for me to tell you."

"It's ok, seriously. Damon explained it all to me." Elena told her.

"Me, too." Margret said, entering the room.

"I thought you were at home."

"After the kind of night I've been having, I thought I'd crash here." Margret told her.

"Okay." Elena said.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Bonnie." Margret said.

"So am I." Bonnie said. "I didn't mean to worry anyone."

"It's alright, Bonnie. I know why you did it." Margret said.

"Margret, make sure you're sister stays safe." Bonnie told her. "Even though I managed to fake my death, Klaus will still be after her."

"Don't worry, Bonnie. I may not be a fighter, but I have my own ways of protecting you guys." Margret said.

"Thanks. And keep weaving those jewelry charms. They'll come in handy." Bonnie told her. She logged off. It wasn't long before Margret fell asleep on the couch.

"Well, guess we should find a way to…" Elena glanced over and noticed her sister asleep. She picked up the blanket and threw it over her sister. "Night, Margie." She kissed her forehead and left the room.


	36. Trust Me

A crash woke Margret up the next morning. At first, she didn't know where she was, then she remembered: she crashed at the boarding house last night. She was grateful that she'd brought a change of clothes with her before she'd left. She had finished changing when the guys entered the room.

"Have you seen Elena?" Stefan asked her.

"No, I just woke up." She told them. "Isn't she here?" She noticed the brothers exchange looks. "What's going on?"

"What's going on is that your sister set Elijah free." Damon told her. He seemed pretty angry.

"So, they're both missing." Margret said "Oh, please tell me he didn't kidnap her again."

"Hey, let's not jump to conclusions."

"She does have a bad habit of getting taken by them a lot." Damon pointed out. Margret looked at him, feeling completely scared now.

"You are not helping." Stefan told him, putting an arm on Margret's shoulder. "Look, we should see if she's okay first." He took out his phone and called her. Margret wished she could hear the other end of the conversation like they could, but she knew it wasn't possible.

"Where are you? Are you okay? Where? I'm on my way." There was a brief pause. "Listen to me. He can't be trusted He'll use you to get to Klaus. You can't do this alone." Then, the conversation was over.

"Did she just hang up on you?"

"She did."

"She's lost it."

"She's just trying to keep everyone alive."

"We've got to find her."

"Guys!" They turned. Margret was standing in between them. "Look, I know my sister better than either of you and I know she's trusted both of you with a lot, heck, she's probably told you guys stuff she never even told me."

"Even siblings have secrets sometimes." Damon pointed out.

"Can I finish or are you going to interrupt me again?" She said. He looked surprised, but didn't say anything. "I guess what I'm saying…My question to you guys is, do you trust her?"

"You know I trust her."

"Really?" Margret asked. "Didn't look like it from the way you guys were arguing about her. Look, I know she makes some questionable choices sometimes but when push comes to shove, I trust her no matter what." She walked out of the room. They looked at each other.

"She's got a point."

"Yeah, she does. Guess we're going to have to trust her."

Meanwhile, Margret was upstairs calling Melody. "Hey, sorry about last night."

"Yeah, you definitely owe your man an explanation as to why you ditched him at the dance." Melody said.

"I know, I'll tell you guys. But can we do it over coffee or something?" Margret said. "I have a feeling it's going to be a very long day."

"Sure, no problem." Melody said. "We'll meet you outside the Grill." She hung up.

Margret sighed and headed back downstairs. Stefan was on his way out the door. "What's going on?"

"Jenna's back and I think Klaus may be setting a trap for her." He told her. "I'm going to see if I can do something about it."

"Be careful." Margret told him. He left the house instantly. "That is still weird."

"I still think this is a bad idea."

"Okay, I'm so not getting involved in this." Margret said. "Look, if you two keep fighting like this, I know I'll get caught in the middle of it. So no thank you, I'm going to meet my friends. After that 'disappearing act'" she air quoted. "They've been worried."

She got to the Grill a few minutes late, but they were still outside waiting for her. "Hey." Alex said. "You okay?" He asked. She hugged him.

"Yeah, they managed to get away from him." Margret said. "For now, at least."

"Why'd you take off without telling anyone where you were going?" Melody asked.

"My brother was worried about Bonnie. We left to see if we could find her." Margret explained. "She was hurt, but it didn't look too bad."

"Alex told me about that creep." Melody said. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I didn't want to worry you guys with my personal drama." Margret told her.

"We're your friends, you know you can trust us with anything." Melody said.

"I don't know, Melody. Sometimes you're just better off in the dark." She glanced down at her bracelet. For a second, she considered removing it and letting the guys compel her to forget everything. Maybe she was better off not knowing, either.

"She's right, you know." Alex said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "We're here for you no matter what."

"Thanks, Alex, but this is something I have to deal with." Margret said. "I know there's no way this guy is going to give up."

"So, why was he after them in the first place?" Alex asked.

"I have no idea." Margret lied. "Maybe it's a prank gone too far, but I think he really means harm."

"Dang, and I thought Rob and I had issues." Melody said.

"That's different. You're siblings." Margret pointed out. Just then, her phone buzzed. She looked down and saw a text from Stefan:

Jenna knows, she's at our house.

She seemed worried. "Everything okay?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, that was Elena." Margret lied. "Seems like Aunt Jenna's been feeling a little sick. I should go see if I can help her."

"Go on, then." Alex said. "Your aunt clearly needs you."

"Are you serious, Alex?" Melody asked. Margret left before she could watch them argue. The two of them never really got along well and often their arguments started to make no sense.

She got back to the Boarding House half an hour later. Elena was in the library with Jenna. "Aunt Jenna, are you okay?" Margret asked.

"She's pretty shaken." Elena said.

"So, how long have you guys known about this?"

"I only just found out about a month ago, maybe two." Margret said. "The rest of them, even my twin, knew before I did."

"We were trying to keep you safe."

"On the other side, I guess you know that Mr. Saltzman was trying to help, too." Margret said. "What happened at the house?"

"He was acting strange, then he tried to attack me. If Stefan hadn't been there…"

"He's been kind of, possessed." Elena said. Jenna looked at her.

"It's a long story, but we'll tell you everything we know." Margret told her.

An hour later, Elena had walked out of the room. "Okay, so I'm really confused. Tyler's a werewolf?"

"Yeah, I don't really understand that either." Margret admitted.

"So, basically, the whole Founder's Council are trying to hunt down vampires. Couldn't they do something?"

"They're after all vampires, good and bad." Margret said. She saw the realization hit Jenna. "And I'm not sure if they even know about the Originals." Then they heard something in the hallway.

"I've got this. Will you be okay here?" Margret asked her. Jenna nodded.

She headed into the hallway, where Elena, Stefan, Damon, and Andie were standing. "What is going on here?" Margret asked.

"Elena has to get back to meeting with Elijah." Stefan told her.

"Hey, I promised I would." Elena said, offended.

"Yeah, how do you know he won't try to kidnap you again?"

"Hey, easy, Damon." Andie was saying.

"Shut up, Andie!"

"Guys! Really? Need I remind you it's the twenty-first century and a girl can do anything a guy can do?" Margret said. "Look, I know Elena will come back. She's survived worse than Elijah."

"Thanks." Elena said. She walked out of the house. Everyone else watched her leave.

"You really think…"

"Look, I am too tired to fight with either one of you right now, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get Aunt Jenna settled here." Margret said. "Unless you've got a problem with that." She headed back into the living room. The others looked at each other.

A few minutes later, Margret and Jenna were upstairs in a room. "You should be safe here for a while." Margret said. "Since they basically turned this into a safe house."

"I still can't believe all this."

"I couldn't at first, either." Margret said. "It takes time getting used to it."

"Seeing him save me back there,"

"They've been trying to protect our family." Margret said. "Although we all hate Uncle John."

"So, basically this guy has been after Elena…"

"He wants to sacrifice her to break some kind of curse." Margret said. "Apparently, her blood is the key to breaking it."

"And you've all been trying to prevent it."

"Caroline, Bonnie, and I have been doing research, working with the others to make sure she stays safe." Margret said.

"Who else knows?" Jenna asked.

"Only Tyler." Margret said. "The rest of our friends have no idea and right now, I think keeping them out of it is a good thing. If they find out, too many people will get hurt and I want to keep them off this guy's hit list."

"Hey, you know I'll help you guys with this." Jenna told her. "This family is in this together now, no matter what."

"Thanks, Aunt Jenna." Margret headed downstairs. She had walked into the living room. The guys were glaring at each other. Elena had also returned, with a man she didn't recognize. She guessed it was Elijah.

"Whoa, what happened in here?" She asked.

"Oh, the usual." Elena said. "My guess: they got into another fight."

"Really, again?" Margret asked. She walked over to the guys and stood between them, in case they started fighting again.

"Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal." Elena said.

"Really?" Damon said. Margret glared at him.

"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands." The man standing next to Elena was saying. "I only ask for one thing in return."

"What?"

"An apology."

"What?" Margret was trying not to laugh. She knew Damon didn't apologize, at least, not really. The closest she'd gotten to an apology from him was advice on what to wear to her date.

"I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death. I was protecting Elena." Stefan told him. "I will always protect Elena."

"I understand." Margret looked at them.

"And I'd do whatever I could to protect her." She spoke up. The group looked at her.

"Elijah, this is my sister, Margret." Elena explained.

"Nice to meet you." He shook her hand. Margret was too stunned to say anything.

"Sacrifice is going to happen, Damon. Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself and Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you I'd find another way. And I did." Elena said.

"I'm relieved to hear that." Margret said.

"You're trusting him?"

"Do we have any other choice?" Margret pointed out. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but I will always trust my sister." He walked out of the room.

"He's angry with me right now." Stefan explained. "But he'll come around."

"Perhaps."

"I've had more arguments with my twin." Margret said. "And we've been able to get over it."

"Well, now that we have a plan, we better be careful." Elena said. "If he finds us first, the whole thing could fall apart."


	37. The Last Day

The next morning, Margret, Elena, and Stefan were meeting in the living room. Elijah was explaining the details about the ritual. "Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."

"Elena said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake? That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus." Elena had explained everything to them last night.

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline." Elijah explained. "The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it... He'll be a true hybrid."

"Then why are we letting him break the curse?" Everyone turned as Damon entered the room. "We can kill him today. With Bonnie."

"Damon…"

"No. Bonnie can't use that much power without dying."

"I'll write her a great eulogy."

"Damon, we've been over this. We're not putting Bonnie at risk." Margret said.

"All right, how do we break this curse?" Stefan asked, trying to veer the conversation back on topic.

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."

"The moonstone."

"A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each." Margret cringed. She knew how twisted this ritual was and part of her was surprised they were even doing this. But she knew they didn't have any other option.

"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asked.

"The final part of the ritual. Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger... To the point of your death."

Margret took Elena's hand, letting her know she supported her no matter what. On the other side of the couch, she saw Stefan holding her other hand.

"And that's where you come in." Elena said.

"This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation." Elijah explained.

"So I'll be dead?"

"And then you won't." Margret was starting to doubt this would work, but someone else spoke up.

"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon asked. He turned to Elena. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"

"He has a point." Margret said. "I mean, she's still human and the ring would protect her from the supernatural."

"The doppelgänger's a supernatural occurrence." Elijah explained. "Odds are, the ring won't work."

"I'll take those odds over your elixir. What if it doesn't work, Elena?"

"Then I guess I'll just be dead." Elena told him. Margret stared at her. She didn't want anything to happen to her sister, but she knew it was a risk with this plan.

"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?" She asked.

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will."

Margret had gone out to the backyard. She was in the garden, (A/N: Don't know if they actually have one, but I needed somewhere for Margret to go.) looking around. She eventually found herself on the back porch. "This is way too risky."

"Tell me about it." She glanced up in surprise. She knew she should've been used to it by now, but she wasn't really expecting company out here. "She's taking a really big risk, you know."

"Of course I know that." Margret said. "But it's her decision and I'll always trust her. Still, I'm really worried that something could go wrong."

"You and me both." Damon started to head inside.

"I know you're scared, too." Margret said. "I don't want anything to happen to her either. And between us, I don't really trust our Original friend in there." Then she noticed him listening to something. "What is it?"

"Jenna." They ran into the house.

Upstairs, they nearly collided with Elena, Stefan, and Elijah. Then Margret saw her aunt pointing a crossbow at Alaric. "What's going on?" Elena asked.

"It's me, Elena, I swear, okay?" Alaric said. "He let me go. Klaus let me go."

"Margret, stay behind me." Elena whispered. She'd been standing between her and Stefan up to that point. Part of Margret wanted to believe him, but she wasn't sure.

"Prove it." Damon said.

"Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to..."

"It's him." Jenna said, putting the crossbow down. Margret felt like she was going to be sick. There were still some things about them that she didn't want to know.

"Why did he let you go?" Stefan asked.

"He wanted me to deliver a message." Alaric said. "The sacrifice happens tonight."

A few minutes later, they were all sitting in the living room. " So you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan was asking.

"No. It's like I blacked out and woke up 3 days later. Katherine was there." Alaric told them.

"She's under compulsion." Stefan explained. "Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."

"Where is Damon?" Elena asked the group.

"I saw him go upstairs." Jenna told her. She got up and left the room.

"So what else did I do?" Alaric asked.

"Well, while you were possessed, you went after Aunt Jenna." Margret said. "Good thing Stef was there to help her."

"And you also told her everything." Stefan added.

"Everything?" He repeated, shocked.

"I know, Ric." Jenna said. "The others filled me in on the parts you, or this Klaus guy, left out." She took her hand in his. Margret was watching them. She could feel herself blushing. Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked at Stefan.

That's when she heard it. She may not have had super hearing, but she didn't need it to be able to hear her sister's muffled screaming. Judging from the reactions of the others, they all heard it, too. She and Stefan looked at each other. Almost instantly, he'd taken off.

"What is going on up there?" Jenna asked.

"It's probably nothing that they can't handle." Alaric told her.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. They seemed to be at odds this morning." Margret said.

"I hope she's okay."

"Relax, one thing I do know about all this is that Elena's never gotten into any mess she hasn't been able to get out of." Margret said. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from upstairs.

The next thing she knew, she was running upstairs with Jenna and Alaric. They entered one of the bedrooms and found Elena on the ground. She was crouching over Stefan, who had a stake in his stomach. "What the hell's going on?" Alaric asked.

"Just get him out of here!" Elena said. She sounded scared. Margret entered the room, feeling sick inside.

"Oh, my God."

"Okay, Jenna, downstairs are some blood bags." Alaric told her. "Go get them now."

"They should be in a cooler in the basement." Everyone looked at Margret. "What? I stopped by once when Caroline's mom was here." Jenna left, while she moved over to where her sister was.

"What happened?" She asked. Then she noticed a red spot near her mouth. "Oh, my God, is that…"

"Damon's blood." Elena told her. "He thinks the only way I'll survive this is…"

"If you become one of them." Margret finished. She wasn't sure if she should be angry at him or not. She stepped out into the hallway and pulled out her cell phone. "Hey, it's me."

"Are you okay?" She heard her twin ask, his voice full of concern.

"I'm fine, but something's happened with Elena." Margret said. She quickly explained what had happened that morning. Then he swore.

"Great, so now on top of this stupid ritual, we've got to somehow prevent her from becoming a vampire, something that's never happened in the history of vampires."

"Jer, please calm down." Margret said. "I didn't call so you could come over and kick Damon's butt, as much as he deserves it. The important thing is we need to help Elena out."

"I know. Look, we'll research what we can over here." Jeremy told her. "We'll help in anyway we can."

"I'll meet you there later. But right now, I've gotta go." Margret said. She hung up and left, wanting to stay out of the drama. This was one thing she did not deal with.

At the Grill, she met with her friends. "Hi, guys. Sorry I'm late. I got tied up with taking care of my aunt." She told them.

"Yeah, how's she doing?" Amy asked. "You said she was feeling sick after yesterday, didn't you?"

"Yeah, it's pretty bad." Margret said. "I think we should call the doctor. Even Alaric stopped by to make sure she was okay." She really hated lying, but she knew she had to keep their secret.

"We're all thinking of her." Melody told her.

"How's Elena dealing with all this?" Alex asked her.

"She's so worried, I'm thinking she might need a doctor too." Margret said. "Stefan's getting her mind off things, taking her out for the day, since she's so worried."

"Sounds like you could use a day off yourself." Alex said. "I'm sure she's in safe hands with Mr. Saltzman."

"I know she is." Margret said. "But I can't help but feel worried about her."

"I'm a little more worried about Care." Amy said. "Matt's really been keeping his distance from her."

"You think they might break up?" Melody asked.

"It's possible."

"Well, maybe it'll give Caroline the chance to see she doesn't need a guy in her life to be happy." Melody said. Everyone stared at her. "What? Name one time when you've ever seen Caroline Forbes without a boyfriend."

"I don't know, guys, Matt's the first guy she's actually had feelings for." Amy said. "Who knows what'll happen if he dumps her?"

"Then you're not going to like what I just heard from Rob." Alex said. "Apparently, Tyler's back." Margret looked at him in shock. Last she'd heard, Tyler had left to deal with some of the changes that came with being a werewolf.

"And he suddenly decided to return now?" Margret asked. She remembered that tonight was a full moon. Then she remembered it was also the night of the sacrifice ritual. She couldn't decide which was worse, Tyler accidentally hurting one of them or being dead.

"Well, I'm not so sure he had a choice." Alex told them. "According to Rob, Mayor Lockwood fell down the stairs and was hospitalized." Margret clenched her fist under the table. She just knew deep down that Klaus or one of his henchmen were behind this.

"Are you okay?" Melody asked, noticing. "You seem really tense."

"Yeah, it's just everything happening at once." Margret told her. Melody seemed concerned.

"Well, it is a lot to deal with." Alex said, saving her from having to explain. "I mean, Margret's aunt, Ty's mom, not to mention whatever's going on with Care."

"Yeah, I know it's tough. If Rob wasn't at practice today, I wouldn't be here." Melody pointed out.

"I thought you had guitar lessons." Amy said.

"Cancelled." Melody told her.

"Well, maybe we could do something." Margret said. "All of us."

"As long as we're not sitting around singing 'A Little Bit of…'"

"Oh, come on, Amy, you're obsessed with that movie." Melody pointed out.

"Yeah, but that number feels way out of place." Amy said. "I mean, what was the point? I got that her friends were trying to make her feel better, but…"

"Well, at least it's better than singing 'Fighter'." Margret said. "I don't see how Christina Aguleria can breathe during that one."

"No kidding." Amy said. "You nearly fainted last time."

"We agreed never to talk about that." Margret pointed out. Amy shrugged.

"Well, it's clear karaoke's out." Alex said.

"Yeah, though we could try something else." Melody suggested.

"Let me guess, dancing?" Amy asked her.

"I was thinking air hockey." Alex said. "Rob said they finally got a table here."

"No way!" Amy said. "Let's do it!"

After a few hours, the group had finished their third game. "Nice one!" Margret said, high-fiving Alex.

"Oh, come on, that's so not cool. You had a guy helping you." Amy protested.

"Are you kidding me? Who do you think taught me how to play?" Alex asked.

"Wait, really? Margie taught you?"

"We used to have an air hockey table in our basement." Margret explained. "I used to play with Dad all the time before high school started."

"I came over one day and she taught me how to play the game." Alex said, looking at her.

Before anyone else could speak, Amy's cell phone rang. "Hello?" She frowned. "No, I haven't seen her since this morning." She looked at her watch and was surprised to see that it was almost four. "Is something wrong? Okay, I'll let you know if I find out anything." She hung up.

"What's up? My brother asking about returning his Nickelback CD?" Melody asked.

"No, it wasn't Rob." Amy told them. "That was Matt. He's out looking for Caroline. He hasn't seen her all day and wanted to know if I knew where she was."

"Have you tried calling her?" Margret asked, her voice full of concern. It was one thing for Tyler to be back in town, but if he had Caroline, too…

Amy was calling Caroline, but got a busy signal. "She's not answering her phone. She always answers her phone." Amy said.

"Maybe her battery died." Melody suggested. Margret sent a quick text to Damon:

-He's captured Caroline and Tyler for the sacrifice.

It didn't take long for him to respond:

-I know, I'm on my way to help them.

-Might want to hurry, Amy's freaking because of her disappearance.

"Everything okay?" Margret jumped and closed her phone before Alex could see their conversation.

"Yeah, just Elena wondering where I am." She lied. "We've been having a few problems at the house lately."

"You're telling me." Amy said. "Our place is so old, there are nights where I've had to stay with Aunt Liz so we could make repairs."

"Better than spending two weeks cramped in the neighbor's apartment." Melody said.

"Yeah, I remember that." Alex said. "Was it as bad as Rob said?"

"We had to share a bunk bed." Melody said.

"Ooh, that's pretty bad." Margret said. "Even Jeremy and I wouldn't have been able to handle that."

"For once, I'm glad I don't have siblings." Alex said.

"I'm really worried about her." Amy said.

"Don't worry about it, Amy." Margret said. "Some of the others are looking for her. I'm sure she'll be safe in no time." Amy gave her a brief smile, before turning back to Melody. By the time Margret checked her watch again, it was close to sunset.

She figured she should start heading to the witch house now, because she had trouble finding her way in the dark. "I should get going, guys. I promised I'd meet my family at the Boarding House."

"Why are you guys staying there?" Amy asked.

"We've been there for the past few days while they take care of an infestation." Margret said, thinking on her feet. "We'll be good to go back by tomorrow. I'll see you around." She walked off.

She was still outside the Grill when she heard someone following her. "Margret, wait up!" She breathed a sigh of relief and turned around.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to see you." Margret said.

"I wanted to know if you needed me to walk you back." Alex told her.

"Thanks for the offer, Alex, but I know where it is." Margret said. "Look, it's not like I'm trying to blow you off, I just have some family things I need to take care of."

"I just want to know what's going on here. It's like almost every time I try to get close, something comes up."

"Oh, come on, Alex. You know I had an emergency that night." Margret said. "But I will admit, I was having fun before I had to leave."

"That's good to know. I thought that you weren't really into it."

"Are you kidding me? I love spending time with you, Alex. You're the closest friend I've had. Even when I was trying to avoid you, you were still there for me."

"When were you avoiding me?"

"Beginning of the school year, when you started asking me out all the time." Margret reminded him. "But now, I'm done with that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm done trying to fight against how I feel all the time." Margret told him. "This whole time, I've been scared to admit it because we're such close friends. I'm done hiding how I feel about you." She felt herself blushing. She noticed Alex was, too, once she looked over at him.

"How…how do you feel about me?" He asked.

She looked at him, unsure of what to say. 'You're this great guy I've known my whole life? I've had a crush on you since our first date? We're friends for life?' Then, she looked at him. He looked nervous. She knew that he was just as unsure about all this as she was.

She knew she didn't need to say anything. She stepped closer to him, got on her toes, and leaned in closer until their lips touched.

After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other. Margret was still blushing. She had never kissed anyone before, but for her first, it felt pretty good.

"Wow." Alex said.

"I know." Margret said. "Um…I'll call you tomorrow." She started to walk off, then she turned around and waved to him. He waved back. Then, she turned around and started walking again. She started humming on her way to the house.

At the house, she knocked on the door, letting them know she was there. "Hey."

"Good, you're here." Jeremy said. "We could use a hand going through these." He handed her a grimoire. She stepped into the room. "Why are you so happy?"

"Oh, no reason." Margret said. "Just in a good mood." She was still smiling as she opened the book. Bonnie looked over at her.

"You can tell us later." Bonnie said.

"Thanks." Margret said. She turned back to the book. She knew she had to focus if she was going to help Elena.


	38. The Sun Also Rises

A couple hours later, it had gotten dark out. Margret was reading through her third grimiore. The three of them had been researching so far, but hadn't had any luck yet. "This is useless." Jeremy said, getting up. "All these grimoires. There has to be something in here to keep Elena from becoming a vampire."

"And we'll keep looking. Until the last minute." Bonnie pointed out.

"You know it." Margret said. "I don't want Elena to have this kind of life. Not if she doesn't want it."

"You're strong for someone your age."

"Hey, I've been keeping your secrets. I know how hard it is for you guys to hide it." Margret said. She picked up another grimoire and started reading it.

An hour later, they were still going through the books. "Find anything?" Bonnie asked them.

"Nothing so far, except for a spell for protecting against evil." Margret said. "Where was that spell when all this started happening?"

"I didn't know how to use my powers then." Bonnie pointed out. "Which one are you reading?" She asked Jeremy.

"Emily Bennett's has a section on spells she did for my ancestor Jonathan Gilbert." Jeremy told them.

"Yeah, I think she had a thing for him." They looked at her.

"There's something on a resuscitative spell she was working on." Jeremy continued. Margret looked at the page that was open and read through it.

"I saw that, too. She just didn't explain what it did, exactly." Bonnie said.

"I wish they were more specific when they journaled." Margret said.

"Yeah, like you were ever that specific." Jeremy said. She turned to him, appalled and angry.

"You read my diary?" Margret asked.

"It was at the beginning of the school year." Jeremy told her. "Back when I didn't trust anyone."

"Still, that doesn't make it right. Why would you go through it anyway?" Margret asked.

"I wanted to know what you thought of Elena's boyfriend. Not like I really trusted anyone at the time." He pointed out.

"Guys, can we focus?" Bonnie pointed out. "We have to help Elena before she ends up sacrificed and turned into something she doesn't want to be."

"Do you have any idea what this spell does?" Margret asked her.

"Maybe Jonathan wrote about it in his journals." Jeremy said. "You know, I can have Stefan bring them." Then they heard footsteps.

"Someone's here." They stayed quiet for a few minutes. Then, Alaric walked into the room.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"Elijah and Stefan are upstairs." He told them. He turned to Bonnie. "Could you give me a moment alone with them?"

"Okay." Bonnie got up and left the room.

"What's the matter?" Jeremy asked.

"Something's happened to Jenna." Alaric told them.

"Oh, no." Margret said.

"Klaus took her. He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual." Alaric explained.

"That's awful." Jeremy said. "Why would he use Jenna?"

"I don't know."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help her?" Margret asked.

"Well, we've come up with a plan, but you're not going to like it." Alaric warned them.

"What is it?"

"Stefan's going to the site to offer himself in her place."

Suddenly, Margret felt the ground give out beneath her. As she collapsed, the guys caught her. "We've got you, sis." Jeremy said.

"Does that happen often?" Alaric asked him, concerned for the girl.

"Once in a while. She began having fainting spells after the accident." Jeremy said. "The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her, but they believe that its stress related."

"Will she be okay?"

"Yeah, she will. It's one thing dealing with the supernatural, but I don't know how I'd get through any of this without her." Jeremy told him. He held onto Margret.

A few minutes later, she was helping the others study again. She was surprised when Uncle John showed up.

"I brought the Gilbert journals. I think I know the spell you're talking about." He told the group.

"Where's Damon?" Bonnie asked.

"Upstairs. Alaric wanted to talk to him."

"Well, while he tells him the bad news, the rest of us should go through these journals." Margret said, pulling one of them out of the box. "You're helping us with this one."

The group went through the journals. "Hey, I think I found it." Jeremy said. Margret and Bonnie went over to him. "It looks like he wrote down the steps for the spell, too."

"Or Emily did." Margret pointed out. They read over his shoulder.

"I think I know how to do this spell." Bonnie said. "If it works, we can save Elena." There was a knock on the door.

"It's already open. Get in here." Margret said. Damon entered the room.

"Please tell me you've got good news."

"We found something in the Gilbert journals." Bonnie told him.

"Jonathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily's services." John explained. "The woman's baby was sick; dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind a woman's life force with her child."

"Skip to the save Elena part." Damon said.

"Yeah, I think we can skip most of the details." Margret added, surprised to find herself agreeing with Damon.

"Well, the child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her to life." John finished.

"We already know Elena's going to come back to life but she'll be a vampire." Jeremy pointed out.

"Not if her soul remains intact."

"Not to split hairs here, but vampires do have souls." Margret said. "Not that I believe any of that ridiculous crap from Buffy, but from what I've picked up on, it's there."

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Damon said. "You're going to put your faith in some act of god mumbo jumbo?"

"I refuse to let Elena become the thing I've spent my life protecting her against." John told him. "And you can call that god or mystical energy, whatever you want, but yes... I'm putting my faith in it."

Margret rolled her eyes, unable to believe that even when they were trying to save Elena, he was still against the others. Jeremy put an arm around her shoulder. She looked at him. He signed for her to not comment on it.

A few minutes later, Bonnie was casting the spell. "How much longer is this going to be?" Jeremy asked.

"It's done." Bonnie said. "We better get going."

"Oh, heck no! I am not getting involved in this." Margret said.

"Our sister needs us, Margret." Jeremy pointed out.

"No, Margret's right." Bonnie said. "It's too dangerous for any of you to get involved. Look, if anything goes wrong, who's to say he won't go after either of you two or even Alaric next?"

"So, we're just supposed to sit here?" Jeremy asked.

"We don't have a choice." Margret said. "Look, I know how hard this is, but Elena wouldn't want us rushing into this."

"I know." Jeremy said. "But I just hate waiting around when she's in trouble."

"We'll do everything to make sure they both come back alive." Damon told them.

"We have to go, now." Bonnie said. She left first, followed by everyone except for the twins, John, and Alaric.

Hours later, Margret woke up. She had fallen asleep in her brother's room. Then she remembered everything from the previous night and headed into the living room. Jeremy and Alaric were already there, but John had gone missing. "How is everyone?"

"We're not sure yet. They just got back." Alaric told her. It was then that she noticed her sister lying down on the couch. Damon was sitting beside her.

"Is she okay?" Margret asked.

"I don't know yet." He told them. He sounded worried.

"What about Jenna?" Alaric asked. Damon looked at the group. His expression said everything. "No."

"I'm sorry, you guys."

"You did the best you could." Margret told him. She looked at them sadly. Then she heard a sharp intake of breath and realized Elena was awake. "Elena!" They all ran over to where she was lying down.

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"How do you feel?" Damon asked her.

"I feel fine." Elena said. "How am I still normal?"

"Bonnie and John found a spell to help you." Margret told her, then she frowned. "Wait a minute, where is Uncle John, anyway?"

"Um, Margret," Jeremy started to say. He seemed really nervous. "Did you read about what happened to the mother after they saved the kid?"

"No, why?" Margret asked. He looked at her, concerned.

A couple hours later, she was wearing a black dress. She knew Jeremy had entered the room. "How are you holding up?" She asked him.

"I've been better." Jeremy said.

"Yeah, same here." Margret said. "Guess we should get her."

They entered Elena's room. She was still getting ready. "I'm almost ready."

"Take your time." Jeremy told her. He handed her a piece of paper. "John wanted me to give you this. And this." He gave her John's ring.

"I'm so sorry." Elena said. "Because of me, you've lost so many people."

"Hey, we still have you." Margret pointed out. The three of them hugged each other.

"I'll wait for you downstairs." Jeremy told the girls. "Oh, and Margret, he wanted you to have this note." He handed her a sheet of paper, too.

She read it, then looked over at Elena. "It's kind of weird. I never liked this guy, and now that he's gone, it's like…"

"You kind of wish you could talk to him?" Elena finished for her. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to. Don't worry, my support group will be there."

At the cemetery, the group was looking at the graves. Margret was a little surprised that Caroline had shown up, but figured that Amy had told her when she gave everyone the news. Rob and Melody were standing close by and Alex was right next to her. They watched as Elena set a rose on each grave. Then placed two on the last one before leaving with the others.

Margret stepped up and placed a rose on Jenna's grave, and another one on her parents'. She felt a hand on the back of her shoulder. She glanced up and looked at Alex. As she stood up, she nearly fell into his arms. The rest of her friends surrounded her. They started to lead her away, when she remembered something.

She pulled away and placed a letter on her parents' grave. Then she nodded to the others, indicating she was ready to go. She allowed her friends to lead her back to the others. They'd all be meeting at her house.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I wish I could tell you everything that's happened to me in the past year. Everything at school is going well, and my friends are just as supportive as ever. As you can probably tell from wherever you are, some of my new friends are supernatural. They've been protecting us from the bad ones, just like you two were trying to do. Now that Jenna's with you two, I don't know what'll happen with our family. I'm a little scared, but I know that we'll figure something out. I wish you were still here to give us advice sometimes. I'll keep trying to reach you, even if it's just through these letters. I love you, no matter where you are.

Your Daughter,

Margret


	39. As I Lay Dying

Margret woke up in her room and practically dragged herself off the bed. After the rough couple days she'd had, she was just relieved to see the sun when she opened her curtains. She checked her phone and saw she had a text from Amy. She figured she'd look at it later. Then she heard something downstairs. She walked down and saw her sister looking toward the doorway.

"Elena?" She turned to her.

"You're up early."

"So are you." Margret pointed out. "What are you doing up?"

"It's nothing, really." Elena said. "I just had a very weird run in with Damon."

"Yeah, I thought I heard footsteps down here." Margret looked at her. She still seemed a little sad, though it wasn't as bad as when they'd lost their parents. "Hey, we're going to make it through this, Elena."

"I know, it's still hard, though. You should be glad you weren't there when it happened."

"I can't imagine what you're going through."

"I'm more worried about Jeremy." Elena told her.

"Yeah, I know. Dealing with my twin's mood swings are not easy." Margret said.

"Any ideas on what we can do?"

"Amy just texted me about a movie in the park." Margret told her. Elena looked at her. "I know that look, you're getting an idea, aren't you?"

A couple hours later, the three of them were headed into the park. "You brought me to see a girl movie." Jeremy said.

"That's the last time I follow a suggestion that Amy texts me." Margret said. Not that she didn't like Amy's ideas, but Gone With the Wind was her least favorite movie.

"We had to get out of the house." Elena reminded them. "This is our 3-hour distraction from reality."

"Is that what we're doing? Pretending like our lives aren't screwed?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, come on, Jer. Don't be so negative." Margret said.

"So I should be happy because we lost our aunt and uncle in a little less than six hours?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, it's hard, I get it." Margret said. "But I'm not going to live my life facing the down side of every bad thing that happens."

"You should follow your sister's example, man." Margret looked up and saw that Rob and Alex were already there, waiting for them.

"Where's Amy?"

"She went to help Care with the basket. Her cousin might be strong, but she's still a little clumsy." Rob said.

"And Melody?"

"She's in one of her creative moods again. She's been sampling some new tracks for this party she's DJ-ing next week." Rob said.

"And I came to make sure you guys were okay."

"That's sweet of you Alex, but we're fine." Elena said.

"Speak for yourself." Jeremy said.

"Well, most of us are okay, at least." Margret said, wrapping her arms around Alex.

"Are you sure you guys want to be here?" He asked them.

"We need to do this, okay? Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again until one day, it's just not as hard anymore." Elena pointed out, spreading a blanket on the ground.

"Hey, there you guys are." Caroline came over to them, with Amy next to her.

"Margie, you made it!"

"How could I miss this? Besides, we had to get out of there." Margret said.

"Are we really doing this?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes, we are really doing this. We are going to take a page from Scarlett. We made it through the war. I know you guys went through hell, and my mom knows, ow!" Margret had elbowed her in the side.

"Sorry, but you nearly blew your cover."

"Oh, right." Caroline said. "basically it's like Atlanta has burned. And yet, in spite of everything, we persevere."

"What's with your cousin?" Rob asked.

"I don't know. Whatever's going on is between her and Aunt Liz." Amy said. "Apparently some kind of secret, which I want no part of at this time." Everyone sat down.

An hour later, Amy had fallen asleep. The others looked at her. "She always falls asleep during this movie." Caroline told them.

"Does she do this with every movie she finds boring?" Rob asked.

"Hey, that's your girlfriend you're talking about, remember?" Margret pointed out.

"Whoa, really?" Caroline said.

"Oh, don't judge. You went out with Matt and half the student body couldn't believe it." Rob pointed out.

"Okay, am I the only one who's having trouble following this?" Jeremy asked.

"You're not alone, Jer." Margret said. "Not everyone understands this movie."

"Hey." She glanced back.

"Speaking of boyfriends…" The others glanced up and noticed Stefan had joined them.

"Hey! Look who couldn't resist an epic romance." Elena said.

"Will you come take a walk with me?" Stefan asked her. "This won't take long." Elena got up and left with him.

"You think we should try to wake her up?" Alex asked, looking at Amy.

"Trust me, we're better off with her asleep." Caroline said.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Margret asked.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"I've known Stefan long enough to tell when he's serious or not." Margret said. "I'm not as dull as others think I am."

"Okay, look." Caroline whispered to her. "I can't hear them. They're too far away."

"I'll be right back." Margret said. She got up and left. It didn't take her long to find her sister, only now she was alone.

"What's going on?"

"Um, Margret, remember the night of the sacrifice?" Elena asked. "How it was a full moon?"

"Yeah, I remember…"

"Tyler turned when Damon was helping them escape. He got bitten."

"Oh, my god." Margret brought her hand to her mouth.

"There's more. The witches told Stefan there was a cure."

"That's good news."

"But he has to find Klaus to get it."

"That's not good." Margret said. "So, what happens now?"

"I'm going to go see Damon." Elena said. "Do you want to come with?"

"I would, but I told my friends would be back." Margret told her. "I'll catch up with you later." Elena looked at her and Margret knew how bad she felt about early. "Elena, you have nothing to feel bad about. Just go to him already. If he'd want anyone by his side, it'd be you."

"You should let the others know I'm leaving." Elena said.

"I will." Elena embraced her. Then, she took off running.

Margret went back to the others. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up." Alex told her. She smiled, but it never reached her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.

"Um, it's fine. I just thought Melody should know things are going on." She pulled out her phone and started texting.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked. At the same time, Jeremy's phone buzzed and he looked at the text message Margret sent him. At the same time, Margret whispered into Caroline's ear. "Oh, that's not good."

"What are you two going on about?" Rob asked.

"Girl problems." Caroline told him.

"Ah, got it." Rob said.

"I'm sorry. This must be really stressful for you."

"That's why we're here, remember? To de-stress, forget our problems…" Margret said

"And wait to hear if there's good news." Jeremy finished.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." Bonnie said. "I was helping Stefan finish some end-of-school-year project."

"Yeah, we heard the news, Bon." Caroline said.

"We're all hoping things turn out okay."

A few hours later, the group watched the movie. "All this waiting around for news is ruining Scarlett for me."

"Hey, easy, Amy, you're starting to doze off again." Rob said.

"Sorry." Amy said.

"It's okay." Rob said. "Besides, you look kinda cute when you're asleep." Amy blushed.

"Can't you give the girl a break?" Margret asked. Just then, Jeremy's phone rang.

"Alaric. Hey." Jeremy said. The girls listened in while the others watched the movie. "She went to go see Damon. I thought that's where you were?"

Caroline turned to Amy. "Amy, I want you and you're friends to go home."

"You want us to leave? You practically dragged us here!" Amy pointed out.

"Listen, something has come up and I'm worried that my mom is involved." Caroline said. "Rob, Alex, please make sure she gets home safely. Whatever you do, don't stop until you get home, okay?"

"Alright, I guess we're headed to my place." Amy said.

"Are you sure you'll be okay without us?" Alex asked Margret.

"Just go, Alex." Margret said. "I'm okay." The three of them left.

"Maybe you two should go too." Bonnie said once the others were out of earshot. "If Damon is off the rails, there is nothing you can do to stop him. Let us take care of it."

"You keep doing this. You left me behind before, and guess what Jenna still died. Now I'm going to find my sister. You go ahead and you try to stop me." Jeremy said.

"Calm down, Jer. I know how you feel, but they also have a point."

"So what are you going to do?" Caroline asked.

"I'm more worried about Damon than of what our sister would want us to do." Margret said. "I'll look with Jeremy, besides, these bracelets have protective crystals that you charmed, remember?"

"Okay, but first sign of danger, contact us." Bonnie said. Margret nodded and then they split up to search for him.

A few minutes later, Jeremy and Margret were still looking around. "We've been at it for almost fifteen minutes." Margret said.

"We'll find him." Jeremy told her. She stopped walking. He went over to her. "Are you okay?"

"No, Jer, I'm not okay." Margret said. "We just lost two more members of our family and I couldn't stand it if I lost another one." She calmed down and took a breath. "Look, I know you don't like him and that you're just doing this to help our sister, but I actually care about him."

"Margret, listen. We're going to find him and make sure nothing happens to him." Jeremy told her, grabbing his twin's shoulders. "For now, let's just keep looking. Okay?" She nodded, not trusting her voice. They started looking around the area again.

Then she noticed a figure in the distance. "Jeremy." He looked up and saw where she was looking. A few feet away, near the fountain, he was standing there.

"Damon!" They ran over to him.

"Where's Elena?"

"I'm not sure." Margret said.

"We need to get you out of here. The cops are looking for you." Jeremy said. They both got on a side and led him to the Grill.

It was surprisingly empty when they got there. Jeremy called the others. "Hey, it's me. We're with Damon at The Grill." Margret noticed Sheriff Forbes enter the room.

"Look out!" She yelled. One of the crystals on her bracelet started glowing. Damon managed to escape. The twins fell to the ground. After a couple seconds, Margret lifted her head and realized she was okay. "That was a close one, huh, Jer." Then she looked next to her. Jeremy was out and he was bleeding. "Jer?" She shook him. "Jeremy!" The next thing she knew, Sheriff Forbes was at her side.

"You're gonna be fine. It's gonna be okay."

"What were you thinking?" Margret told her.

"You think I meant to hit your brother?" She protested.

"I thought we explained this already. Damon's one of the good ones, and now Jeremy's going to pay for your mistake?" Margret pointed out. The Sheriff seemed shocked by her words. Just then, Bonnie and Caroline showed up.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie yelled.

"Mom, what did you do?" Caroline asked.

"I was aiming for Damon."

"He still has his ring." Caroline pointed out.

"Those only protect from supernatural beings." Margret pointed out.

"Let me try." Caroline bit her wrist and held it to Jeremy. "Come on Jeremy."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to save him." Caroline told her mom. "Jeremy, please."

"Jeremy…" Margret realized the problem, but couldn't say it. She refused to say it. "Caroline, it's not going to work."

"What's going on?" Alaric asked the group. Then he noticed Jeremy. "Oh, my God." He put his arm around Margret.

"I know what I need to do." Bonnie said. She turned to the group. "We need to take him with us."

"You can't move him. This is a crime scene." Sheriff Forbes said.

"Mom, you let them go." Caroline said.

"Thanks for having our back, Care." Margret said as she left with them.

At the witch house, Margret finished lighting a couple of candles. "Is this even possible?" Alaric was asking Bonnie. She was holding Jeremy.

"There's a spell for it if they'll give me the power to use it." Bonnie said. She began to do a spell and Margret stood beside her. She could hear to voices of the spirits around them. "Oh no."

"What? What is it?" Alaric asked.

"They're angry at me for coming back here. They don't wanna help." Bonnie told them.

"Why not?"

"They thought I was abusing their power." She explained.

"That's ridiculous!" Margret said at the same time Alaric said. "They have to help!"

"They said there'll be consequences." Bonnie said.

"Well, he's just a kid. Tell 'em to shut up!" Alaric said. Bonnie kept trying to cast the spell, but Margret noticed her nose bleeding. She knew she was overexerting herself. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"I don't know if you can hear me," She said. "But we need your help!" Bonnie and Alaric looked at Margret. "Please, save him. I've already lost every parent that I've had, I can't lose my brother, too!" A wind blew all around them. Margret felt a warm breeze, despite it being cold inside the house.

"Bonnie, try it again." This time, Margret could hear a few of the whispers join her in the incantation. Suddenly, all of the candles went out and the chant stopped. Everyone looked at each other. "Did it work?"

"I don't know." Bonnie said. Margret could see that she had been crying, too.

"Anything is possible if you believe strongly enough." Margret gasped, hearing a woman's voice, but not seeing anything.

"Emily?" Bonnie asked. Suddenly, they heard an intake of breath. They all looked at Jeremy, who was now awake.

"Bonnie?"

"Oh, my God, Jeremy." Bonnie said.

"What happened?"

"That doesn't matter. I'm just so glad you're okay." Margret said. Bonnie held him close and pulled Margret in, putting them in a group hug. The girls looked up.

"Thank you."

"Thank you so much."

A few hours later, the group was back home. Margret knocked on Jeremy's door and entered, carrying a cup with her. "I made you this. I wasn't sure how you'd be feeling."

"I feel a little strange, it is weird coming back from the…"

"Please don't say it. I was so scared I was going to lose you, Jer." Margret said.

"Hey, you'll never lose me." Jeremy told her. "We're a team. All three of us." She wrapped her arms around him. He returned her embrace. "Besides, nothing bad can happen as long as I've got two great sisters and a witchy girlfriend looking out for me."

"Not to mention three vampires and a teacher-slash-vampire hunter." Margret said. Then she remembered something. "Oh, my God. Damon."

"Go." Jeremy said. "You should check in on him."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Margret asked him.

"I'll be fine, sis. Besides, I'm not alone here."

Margret headed downstairs and nearly ran into Alaric on her way out the door. "Hey."

"Hey. How's he doing?"

"He seems to be okay, which is why I'm worried." Margret said. "I mean, he did just get magically revived by a group of witches. You know, you're always welcome here if you want to stay."

"Thanks, but I think I better just check in on him." Alaric told her.

"I'll be back later." Margret said. Then she walked out of the house.

By the time she got to the Boarding House, it was pretty late. She walked inside just as Elena came downstairs. "Margret?"

"Elena. How long have you been here?"

"About an hour." She told her. Margret didn't want to ask the next question, but she knew she had to.

"How is he?" She asked.

"He's fine." Elena said. "Come with me." Margret followed her upstairs into a room that she'd never visited. Then again, she'd never been upstairs before now. She followed her sister into one of the rooms. Damon was lying down on the bed, but he seemed to be okay. She could never tell with these vampires.

"He's going to make it. We got the cure." Elena told her.

"So, he's going to be okay?" Margret said. At that moment, his eyes opened.

"Margie?" The girls, startled, turned to face the bed.

"Damon." She sat down on a chair that was on one side. "How are you doing?"

"I'm recovering as well as one can from a werewolf bite. I'm guessing she gave you the news."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Margret said. "Nothing in this town would be right without you." She took his hand in hers. He glanced at her.

"Well, things probably won't be right for a while." Damon told her. "You haven't told her yet, have you?" He asked Elena without looking.

"What do you mean?"

"In order to save Damon and get the cure, Stefan promised to leave with Klaus." Elena told her. "Help him with his evil deeds,  
>the usual bad guy stuff."<p>

"That's pretty bad." Margret said. "But I know we can find him."

"We?"

"I've been part of this group for a while now and I know how important he is to all of us." Margret pointed out. "If the situation were reversed, he'd try to find us." Elena nodded in agreement. "I know that if you and the others keep working together, you'll find him."

Then she yawned, feeling tired all of a sudden. "We can start looking as soon as we can, but maybe we should take a break this weekend." Elena said. "I think we need to recover from all that's happened today. Especially you, Damon."

"It's not like I plan on going anywhere right now." He pointed out. Margret smiled. She figured if he was being sarcastic again, he was definitely okay. Elena headed into the hallway. Margret told her she'd be right there.

"I'm glad to see you're back to normal."

"Someone had to break the tension." He pointed out. Margret got up. "Hey," She turned back to him. "How's your brother?"

"He's okay." Margret told him. "You don't have to feel bad about it. You weren't exactly… you when you took off then."

"How come you trust me so much?" Damon asked.

"Because I see you for who you are." Margret said. "You've risked your life to safe my sister and the people important to her. You've never let us down where it really counted. I guess what I'm saying is…you're my friend. We may have our disagreements, but I'll always trust you."

"Are you sure about that?" Damon asked. "Because I'm not always such a good guy."

"Of course I'm sure." Margret said. "I care about you as much as I care about Jeremy. You're like a brother to me." She glanced at the door.

"Go on. It's been a long day for all of us." He told her.

"See you tomorrow." Margret said. She kissed him on the cheek, then headed into the hallway. Elena was still out there when she entered.

"You want me to take you home?" Elena asked.

"I think I'll stay the night." Margret said. "I can go downstairs if you want."

"Actually, I could use some company." Elena told her. "I set up an air mattress in the other room just in case."

"Everything will be okay, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do." Elena told her. "Come on, we better get some sleep." The two of them headed into another bedroom for the night. It didn't take long for the girls to fall asleep. After everything that happened that day, it was understandable.


	40. The Birthday

Dear Diary,

It has been a pretty eventful summer so far. Amy and Rob are still going strong. Melody's been more focused on her music than ever, in fact, she's pretty much written five new songs so far and burned them so she'd have a demo ready, in case we ever meet a local music producer. As for me and Alex, we've been dating. I just wish everyone else's love lives were going well. Bonnie had to visit her dad's side of the family, so Jeremy's pretty much spent all of his time working his new job at the Grill. Luckily, Rob and Matt are working with him, he could use some more friends like them. As for Elena, well, we're still trying to find Stefan.

His absence has definitely left a huge impact on her. So far every lead we had has been shot down, but I know that Damon is doing all he can to find his brother. Heck, we've even got the Sheriff and Caroline passing us new information. Ever since the night Damon was cured, the relationship between the Forbes women and our group has become stronger.

Margret stopped writing and set her journal in the bench under the window seat. Then she looked up to the door and saw Elena. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just woke up Jer." Elena told her. "He's running kind of late."

"That's not like him." Margret said, concerned. Ever since she and Bonnie convinced the spirits to bring Jeremy back to life, something about him seemed a little off. Granted, she knew twins were weird, but this was weirder than usual.

"Well, I guess he was up pretty late last night to oversleep." Elena said.

"Hey." Margret said as she began to leave. "Cheer up, birthday girl. I know we'll find him." Elena turned back to her. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"Actually, I did."

"I have the feeling he'll be back soon. In fact, I have a very strong feeling about it." Margret told her.

"Is that because of your psychic vibe or did you're crystal bracelet tell you?" Elena asked, laughing

"No, it was just a feeling I had when I woke up." Margret said. "I do get good feelings sometimes, you know."

"Well, I'll meet you later." Elena said. She left the room.

After Margret got dressed, she sat down by the window, looking out at the view. Then, she called Amy. "Hi."

"Margie, I was wondering when you'd call." Amy said.

"So, what are you up to?"

"Care's making me shop for party supplies with her." Margret had a feeling she'd do that, mostly because somehow, no matter who was around, she was always roping people in to helping her plan for parties.

"How's your sister doing?"

"She still seems kind of depressed." Margret said.

"Just because her boyfriend left her?" Amy asked.

"It's not because of that." Margret said. "Besides, it wasn't his fault. He was blackmailed into leaving town. Apparently some jerk got some information on him and he had to leave or he'd hurt her and his brother both, the two people he cares most about."

She knew she was stretching the truth by a lot, but it was better than telling them that Stefan made a deal with an Original vampire to save Damon in return for leaving.

"I get it, Margret. Though sometimes I wonder if Melody's right about guys." Amy told her.

"What's going on with you and Rob?" Margret asked.

"Not much." Amy said. "We agreed to take things slow with us, but lately, it just seems like we're drifting apart. It's like neither of us are really interested in hanging out, you know."

"Well, he is busy with work a lot more now." Margret pointed out. "Not like my twin makes it any easier. Why don't you invite him to the party?"

"All of you were invited already, remember?" Amy told her.

"So, what do you think it'll be like?" Margret asked.

"How should I know? Caroline's planning it. I'm surprised Aunt Liz even let her take charge on this one."

"Well, maybe this party will help cheer Elena up." Margret said. "I haven't seen her like this since…" She hesitated. "The accident."

"I didn't know it was that bad." Amy said. "And how are you coping with everything?"

"I'm just glad you guys are still hanging around." Margret said. "By the way, how was your trip?" Amy had gone on a trip to Malibu with her parents, taking surf lessons and spending most of her time at the beach. She got back two weeks ago.

"I'll show you some of the pictures when we meet up later." Amy told her.

"Yeah, I guess I'll meet you later to join 'the decorating committee." Margret said as she entered the living room. "Later." She hung up and walked over to where Elena and Alaric were talking. He'd been staying with them ever since they lost Jenna.

"You certain Stefan's still with him?" Alaric asked her as Margret joined them.

"Easy to be certain when the alternative is that he's dead." Elena said.

"Well, that's an alternative I'm not considering." Margret said. "I know the situation's bad, but I believe he'd want us to help." The group was silent for a moment.

"Are you sure you're still okay on the couch?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm good." Alaric told her.

"Because you spent half the summer on it." Elena said. "If you need you own bedroom…"

"Eeeh, sleeping in your dead parent's room or my dead... girlfriend's room, Nah."

"I think there's a guest room across the hall from Elena's." Margret offered.

"Thanks, but I think I'll stay down here."

"Okay." Margret shrugged. Elena started to leave the room.

"Hey, Elena." Alaric called. She turned around and looked at him. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks." Elena said, smiling slightly. Then she left the room. Margret watched her leave, concerned.

"So, is everything okay with you?" Alaric asked her.

"Oh, everything's fine." Margret said. "It's just a little…challenging."

"I know what you mean. Your sister's really strong, but she's only human. Even she can only handle so much of this." Alaric said.

"I know, but I'm worried." Margret said. "You'll be there tonight, won't you? I have a feeling she might need her support group."

"How can I not be there? Damon convinced me to chaperone."

Margret smiled, then headed back upstairs.

A few hours later, the girls were helping decorate the Salvatore's house. They were working in the library, while Elena, Caroline, and Tyler were working in the living room. "Has anyone noticed anything different with Tyler and Caroline?" Melody asked as she finished tying a streamer around one of the supports.

"What are you talking about?" Margret asked.

"You didn't see it?" Melody said. "They were totally flirting."

"Give it a rest, Mel." Amy said. "I've stayed over at Care's place a few times this summer. They're just friends."

"I don't know." Margret said. "Ever since she broke up with Matt, it seems like she and Tyler have gotten closer."

"Okay, one, it was the other way around, and two, they really are just friends." Amy said. "Nothing's happened between them. Though it does seem like my cousin's got a slight crush on him."

"Have you been spying on her?" Melody asked.

"No!" Amy said. "We weren't spying, Rob and I were taking a walk through the park when we saw them talking. Care couldn't seem to stop laughing." Margret knew it had to be serious. Whenever Caroline got super nervous around guys, she'd break into a case of the giggles.

"Wow." Melody said.

"I'm going to get more decorations." Margret said. She walked into the living room and heard Elena talking about Damon.

"I feel like I have to fight Damon every single time we get a lead on Stefan." Elena was saying.

"Maybe he doesn't want to find him." Tyler said.

"Tyler!" Caroline said.

"What did I just walk into?" Margret wondered. She hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until they all turned to look at her.

"What? He's into you, isn't he?" She seemed surprised that even Tyler, of all people, knew about Damon's feelings for Elena.

"The only reason Stefan left with Klaus was so he could save Damon's life." Elena pointed out. "I mean, trust me, Damon wants to find him."

Caroline was handing Margret a box of decorations when Tyler's next comment surprised them. "But you kissed him." He pointed out. "Probably screwed with his head."

Margret didn't seem too surprised. Elena had told her everything that'd happened that night. What did surprise her is that Tyler knew about it.

"Tyler!" Caroline yelled. She turned to Elena. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, look yes I kissed him but was a... a goodbye kiss. I thought he was gonna die." Elena pointed out. Amy walked into the room then.

"Margret, what's taking so long?"

"Sorry, got held up." Margret said. "I'll just go back to the library now." She left, carrying the box of decorations with her.

"I just got a missed a call from Bonnie, I'll be right back." Elena told them. She walked into the hallway.

"Just because I tell you things it doesn't mean you're allowed to know them!" Caroline told Tyler.

"Uh, Care, that doesn't make any sense." Amy said.

"What I mean is, he shouldn't tell people everything that I tell him, especially when it's a secret." Caroline said.

"Sorry, how was I supposed to know?" Tyler pointed out. "I've gotta run if I'm gonna change and pick up Sophie in time."

"You're bringing a date?" Caroline asked. "Slutty Sophie is you're date?"

"Hey! It's been kinda slow in that department." Amy was too busy checking the sound system in the room to pay attention to the rest of the conversation…until a loud screeching sound echoed through the room. They looked at her.

"Sorry! I'll get Rob to fix that." Amy said. Tyler left. She noticed Caroline watching him. "So, how are things with you guys?"

"Don't you start, too." Caroline said.

"No, don't shut me out, Caroline Forbes. You can talk to me about guy stuff." Amy pointed out. "We're family, and I know how to keep a secret."

"Okay, I like him." Caroline told her. "A lot. He seems to be the only one who gets me, since Matt's been avoiding both of us this summer. And Tyler's just different. "

Amy seemed surprised, but she got why she felt this way. "You should go for it."

"Really? I thought you couldn't stand him."

"He may not be the nicest guy out there, but he's still friends with my boyfriend." Amy pointed out, blushing. "And he's different around you, I see the way he looks at you when he thinks you're not looking."

"You really think he feels the same way?"

"If it's anything I've learned from you, Care, it's that it's worth the risk." Amy said. "Just be careful. I don't want you to turn into the girl you were when you went out with Da…"

"If you ever bring that up again, you will not live to see tomorrow." Caroline said. Amy nodded.

"Hey, what happened to Amy?" Melody asked.

"I think she bailed." Margret told her.

"I'm surprised she didn't give you the good news yet." Melody said.

"What news?" Margret asked, wondering what she meant.

"Amy and I got here earlier and Elena said it was okay if I chose the music." Melody said. "I've been working on this CD in particular for the party. It's all her favorite songs. Though it might cheer her up."

"Melody, you're the best." Margret said, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"So, what did you get her?"

"It's kind of a secret." Margret told her. "But hopefully, it'll help just as much as your music."

"I hope you're right." Melody said. "We better get this job done on our own."

"You're not on your own." They looked up and saw Caroline in the doorway. "I can help you finish here."

"Thanks, Care. It's good to have an extra hand." Margret said. "By the way, what happened to your cousin?"

"She was in charge of taking Elena out of the house while we finished decorating." Caroline explained. "They were headed to the mall last time I saw them."

"Wow." Margret said. "I don't know how, but you've finally gotten my sister to go to one." For some reason, her sister was never as into shopping as Caroline. Freshman year, she'd finally convinced her to get a makeover and it didn't go so well.

A few hours later, Margret had changed into jeans and a light blue one-sleeved shirt. She wasn't really comfortable wearing skirts or dresses when it came to Caroline's parties. She'd pulled her dark hair into a ponytail. She was looking around. "Anyone see Elena?"

"I think she's still getting ready." Caroline told her.

"Care, can you let the others know I'll be down in a few minutes?" Margret asked.

"Sure."

Margret headed upstairs and found Elena. "Hey."

"Hey. You know, you don't have to check in."

"That's not why I came up here." Margret told her. Without looking behind her, she said, "Hi, Damon."

"How do you do that?"

"You're not that subtle. I heard your footsteps behind me." Margret said.

"How are you, anyway? Haven't seen you most of the summer."

"Well, I've been pretty busy between working alongside Amy and helping everyone else." Margret pointed out. "Though if I have to look at one more rack of clothes, I'll probably kill her."

"Well, you two ready?" He asked them.

"I guess I am." Elena said.

"Damon, do you mind if I have a minute with my sister?" Margret asked.

"Take all the time you need." He told her. He left the room.

"So, what's up?"

"I wanted to give you this." Margret said, handing Elena a small box. She opened it and found a bracelet very similar to the one her sister wore all the time. She noticed most of the crystals were pink, though there were a few purple, blue, and red ones between them.

"It's beautiful." Elena said.

"Those pink stones are rose quartz." Margret explained. "They help with love issues, or even bring love to you."

"What about the other stones?" Elena asked, wondering about them.

"Most of the blue-green ones are variations of jade, and those red ones are rubies. That one with a slight crack in it is turquoise, for protection." Elena noticed a small locket on the side, similar to Margret's, but heart-shaped. She opened it to find a picture of her, Margret, and the rest of their family. She also noticed a very tiny sprig taped down to the other half of the inside of the locket.

"Vervain?"

"Yeah." Margret said. It was then that she noticed that Elena was wearing her necklace. "Damon?" She asked. Elena nodded. "Well, it's always good to keep a back-up on in case."

Elena put the bracelet on her wrist. "Thanks, Margret. You're a really amazing friend. I'm lucky to have you for a sister." They embraced.

"I'm going downstairs." Margret told her after they let go. She headed out of the room and nearly walked into Damon. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. Should've watched where I was going."

"You were listening, weren't you?" She asked.

"I didn't hear anything if you didn't want me to." Damon told her.

"I'll meet you guys down there." She told him. Margret walked toward the staircase and headed down.

Margret headed downstairs and found the house was packed. Amy walked over to her. "Thank goodness!"

"I can't believe this." Margret said. "My sister's going to kill your cousin! She promised it'd only be the immediate group."

"Apparently, you don't know Care. When it comes to parties, she plans big." Amy said.

"Do you even know half these people, Amy?" Margret asked.

"No, but I think the others are around here somewhere." Amy said. "The inside of this house is so big, how do you not get lost in it?"

"To be fair, most of the rooms are either locked or off limits." Margret said. "Come on, let's go."

In the living room, Melody had the music selections set up. The girls walked in. Margret smiled when she saw Rob come up behind Amy. He covered her eyes. "Guess who?" Amy removed his hands and turned around.

"Robert, when are you going to stop doing that?" Amy asked, laughing.

"When I stop getting you to laugh, which I hope is never." Rob told her. Margret saw Alex across the room. He ran over to her.

"Alex! You guys made it!" Margret ran into his arms.

"Like we'd ever miss your sister's birthday. It's practically been our tradition since we were eight." Alex pointed out. She laughed as he spun her out.

"I'm changing the CDs around, we need a more positive atmosphere." Melody said. "Also, if any of you have any requests, let me know." She started to walk back to where she'd set up the DJ table.

"She really is a pro at this." Amy said.

"Yeah, thanks for letting her do this." Margret said.

"I didn't. I assumed Caroline gave her permission." Amy said.

"I doubt it." Rob said. "She was too busy with the set-up to worry about entertainment."

"Speaking of which, maybe we should put in a request before she plays that Maroon 5 song again." Alex pointed out.

"I second that. I love Melody like a sister, but if I have to hear This Love one more time, I'm getting rid of that CD." Margret said.

"Hey, I gave you that when you turned fourteen." Rob pointed out.

"Yeah, and back then I didn't think anything bad would ever happen to my family!" Margret snapped. Her friends looked at her in shock. Even Melody, who was at the DJ stand, was stunned. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from." She walked out of the living room, not turning around when Alex called her name.

"Rob, sweetie, I'll be right back." Amy said. He nodded, kissing her on the cheek. She followed her out of the room.

In the hallway, she caught up to Margret. "Hey."

"I'm fine." Margret told her.

"You're not fine." Amy said. "You're acting like Care did when Matt dumped her at the beginning of summer break."

"How do you know so much about her? I thought you lived a block away."

"Across the street, actually." Amy corrected. "Come on, you know I'd keep this between us."

"Okay." They sat down on the steps. "I'm worried about Elena. She's not really into this, I can see it. It's not just the party, either." She explained. "Ever since we lost Jenna, it's like our family fell apart all over again."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"I mean that she's going through the motions." Margret told her. "It's like nothing really matters as much as it used to."

"Well, you guys lost your aunt and she also lost her boyfriend, so she's probably just as lost as you twins." Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm even more worried about him." Margret admitted. "He left so he could keep her safe, but I have a feeling he might be in trouble." She couldn't tell Amy that she knew he was in trouble, otherwise she'd think she was crazy.

"I get it, he basically made a deal with the devil to keep Elena out of harm's way." Amy said. Margret looked at her, surprised by how scary accurate her description was. "Look, things will definitely work out."

"How can you be so sure, Amy?" Margret asked.

"Because if they really love each other the way we all think they do, they'll eventually find their way back to each other." Amy told her. Margret smiled. "Come on, you look like you could use a dance break." She led her back to the living room.

Rob and the others were watching Caroline. "Since when is Ty into her?" Alex asked.

"He's not." Rob said. "He's trying to make Caroline jealous."

"Well, looks like it's working." Alex said, glancing at Caroline.

"He better be careful around her." Amy said as she and Margret came up to them. "When my cousin gets jealous, she plays dirty."

"Really?" Margret asked. She looked up and saw Caroline talking to the girl now. The girl started to leave, though her movement seemed robotic and slow. She shook her head. Clearly her vampire friend still hadn't learned. A fast song came on. She noticed Alex behind her.

"Care to dance?" He asked

"I have nothing better to do." Margret said, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.

After about an hour, Margret had finally relaxed. "Hey, I'm going to go check on the birthday girl. I'll be right back." She told the others.

"Okay." Alex said.

Margret headed upstairs. She heard something and ran the rest of the way up. "It's your birthday! You know, it's the dawn of a new day and, you can't get on with your life until you have made a wish and blown out the candles." She heard Caroline say as she headed upstairs.

"Is that what you all want me to do? Just get on with my life?" Elena asked. Margret could see them now. She remained at the top of the staircase. She saw how Caroline looked and slowly moved toward them.

"No... Maybe... I just don't think anyone wants to see you like this." Caroline said.

"I'm not giving up on finding Stefan, Caroline." Elena said.

"Of course not. And you shouldn't, but you have to admit that you kinda just letting your life pass you by." Caroline pointed out. "And wasn't Stefan the one who wanted to make sure that you lived it?"

"Caroline?" Elena turned around to find her sister behind them.

"Do you feel the same way?" She asked her.

"No." Margret said, looking away. She knew she'd basically just given herself away. When she looked back, she noticed her sister seemed really upset. "I'm sorry, Elena. But I'm worried about you. Ever since he left, it seems like you're just going through the motions. I know it's probably normal, considering what our family's been going through, but still…"

Elena turned back to Caroline. "You want me to make a wish? I just wanna know that he's alive. That's it! That's my wish." She started to walk away.

"Care?" Margret asked.

"I'm not trying to upset her, I was just trying to be honest."

"So you decided to this now? On her birthday?"

"Like I said, I was just trying to help her. Besides, she had my back during that shopping trip a few days ago, when my new dress ripped up my…"

"Okay, Caroline, sit down." Margret said, preventing her from standing. She got a very good look at her. "Oh, my god. Are you drunk?"

"A little." Caroline said.

"Okay, here is what we're going to do." Margret said. "First, you're going to apologize to my sister. Meanwhile, I'm going to get your cousin. She knows how to handle this better."

Margret passed by Damon's room on the way down, and saw Elena frozen outside the closet. "Elena? What is it?" She saw a map and a bunch of pins. "Oh."

Caroline showed up then. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm just drunk and dumb tonight. Annoying, but hey what are you doing? What's all that?"

"It's Klaus. Damon's been tracking him without me." Elena realized.

"Well, if he finds out you're alive, we're all in trouble." Margret pointed out. "I think he was trying to protect you, and besides, if Klaus is still with Stefan…"

"I get it, but still, he could've told me." Elena said.

"I'm going to get Amy." Margret said. "She knows how to deal with Caroline when she's like this." She headed downstairs.

"There you are. I just ran into your cousin upstairs." She said.

"Oh, great. She's drunk again, isn't she?" Amy guessed.

"How did you…"

"Anytime she's upset at her own parties, she goes straight for the alcohol." Amy said. Margret noticed that a crowd had gathered in the living room.

"Whoa. What's going on?"

"Melody's been studying dance the past few weeks." Amy told her. "Don't you remember?"

"Oh, right." Margret said. The two of them joined Rob and Alex near the front of the group. Melody was out on the dancefloor, unaware that there were others watching her. She was dancing with a guy. Margret assumed it was the partner she'd wrote about in her letter.

Melody turned to her partner and nodded. He seemed hesitant, but he moved closer so that they were close enough to touch. They seemed to be talking, but the music was so loud they couldn't hear them.

Everyone watched as her partner held her. Melody placed her hands around his waist, and he helped her so that she'd flipped into an upside-down position and doing the splits. Carefully, they managed to move so that she ended up back in an upright position, resting her knees on his shoulders.

The room exploded in applause. Rob walked over to help Melody get out of the position, then they walked back to the others.

"Wow, that was awesome." Amy said.

"She's right, you were amazing out there." Margret said. "How did you learn that move?"

"Practice." Melody said. "And I've gone over that routine from So You Think You Can Dance about thirty times."

"Wow. That's amazing." Amy said. "And Care said you can't learn anything about dance by watching that show."

"Well, clearly she's wrong about that." Rob said, putting his arm around her.

"Obviously, considering you're sister's the best dancer here." Alex said. "No offense, Margie."

"It's alright. I know I've got two left feet." Margret told him, smiling. "Though I've been getting better at the slow dances."

"You've made a lot of progress." Melody agreed. "At least you have an actual partner to dance with instead of some enthusiast from dance camp."

"Well, any guy who ends up with you would be lucky." Amy said. "Especially if you keep dancing like that."

"You think so?"

"Of course we do, Mel." Margret pointed out. "Who knows, you might even give him some pointers on dancing."

"I don't know, music's more my thing."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short. Besides, maybe you could coach the dance team this year." Rob said.

"Yeah, I think I'll stick with cheerleading." Melody said. The group watched as the two siblings started to argue.

"Well, guess this will take…whoa!" Margret grabbed her wrist as though she'd felt a shock pass through her.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked her. She glanced at her wrist and realized one of the new crystals she'd added was vibrating. Before she'd left for the summer, Bonnie had given her a few new ones. Like the others, they were already pre-spelled so they'd work.

Margret glanced upstairs and figured out what it meant. Then she looked at the others, who looked concerned. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll just go find a bandage or something."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Alex, stop worrying about me."

"You're my girlfriend, it's impossible for me not to." Alex pointed out.

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Margret told him. She kissed him on the cheek, then headed upstairs.

Once she got upstairs, the blue crystal started vibrating again. "Where do I go?" She asked. As though it understood her, the crystal started glowing almost as if moonlight itself was reflecting off it. She noticed a faint light emanating from it, leading toward one of the bedrooms.

She walked over to the closed door and knocked on it. "This room's off-limits!" A tired, sad voice called out.

"Elena?" She opened the door and found her on the bed. Elena looked up and brushed the tears from her eyes. "What happened?"

"We had a fight." She explained calmly. Margret sat down next to her. "It's like he's given up."

"Did he actually say that?"

"You didn't see how hopeless he looked." Margret didn't respond, not wanting to tell her that he looked like that every time he looked at her.

"Okay, you might want to start from the beginning." Margret said. Elena explained everything to her, about how he'd been not only tracking Klaus, but that Stefan was the one leaving the bodies.

"And he doesn't think we stand a chance of saving him now."

"Oh, come on." Margret said. "You've all faced the impossible before. This is no different than everything else we've been through."

"What if we can't…"

"No. No more negative talk on your birthday, Lena." Margret said. "If it were me, I'd keep going even if I knew it were hopeless. Even if I couldn't convince my friends of that."

"Thanks, Margret. You always know what to say."

"I learned from the best, Elena." Margret pointed out. Elena wrapped her arms around her. "Come on, how about we ditch this party and go home?"

"You read my mind." Elena said. "Let's go." They headed downstairs and out the door.

A few minutes later, Margret had finished getting ready for bed. She found Elena sitting on her bed, looking at her phone. "Everything okay?"

"I'm not sure." Elena told her. Margret sat down next to her. "I…I think Stefan just called me."

"And you're sure it's him?" Margret asked her.

"I've got a strong feeling about it." Elena said. "But to be sure, I'll ask Liz to trace it in the morning."

"If it really is him, maybe we can convince him to help again." Margret said.

"I hope you're right, Margie." Elena said. Margret headed to her bedroom, hoping that everything would work out somehow.


	41. The Hybrid

"You don't have to be here, you know." Elena said.

"I know, but I want to help." Margret told her. They headed up to Damon's room.

"Just can't stay away, can you?" He asked them, without even turning around.

"You've been dodging my calls." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, well, busy dating a dead fake girlfriend and all." Damon said. Margret raised an eyebrow at that. She hadn't known about that, but then again, there were things about Damon's private life she didn't want to know.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena asked him.

"Happy Birthday, Elena. Stefan killed Andie." He started to leave the room.

"He called me, Damon." Elena said. He stopped suddenly.

"What?"

"Stefan called me last night." Elena repeated.

"Well, what'd he say?"

"He didn't say anything, but it was him. I asked Sheriff Forbes if she would trace the call's origin. It came from Tennessee." Elena said.

"And she confirmed it was his number." Margret added.

"We went through this, Elena. Stefan's gone. I don't mean geographically." Damon said.

"If he was gone, he wouldn't have called." Elena pointed out. He didn't seem to be listening. She walked out of the room, but Margret stayed where she was.

"What is your problem?" She asked him.

"Excuse me?"

"What's wrong with you? He's your brother and he's clearly going through some issues." She pointed out. "I thought that you of all people would try to help him."

"Look, I can't help him." Damon said, turning toward her. "The way I see it, he's too far gone to be saved."

"Well, that's the difference between you and us. We're not giving up on our friend." Margret said. "I never thought you'd be the one to give up on him, though." She left the room.

She must've looked angry because the first thing Elena said when she stepped outside was, "You okay?"

"Looks like we're the only ones that aren't giving up." Margret told her. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Margie. I figured he wouldn't be much help anyway." Elena said. "Come on, let's go."

At the Grill, Rob was working with Matt in the back room. "So, I saw Jeremy here earlier."

"Yeah, he came by to drop something off." Matt said.

"Yeah, what's up with him, anyway?"

"Well, he's been trying to contact spirits and asked me to help him." Matt told him. Rob glanced at him. "I'm kidding, man. Lighten up."

"Huh, I wonder if that's typical of the Gilbert twins." Rob said.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, turning to face his friend and co-worker.

"Well, for a while after the accident, Margret tried everything she could to try and contact her parents." Rob said. "Everything from small rituals involving her infamous crystals to communicating through fire. I'm not so sure I believe in that stuff myself, but I figured it was a way for her to try and find closure with them."

"Yeah." Matt said sadly. "I guess you're right."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to humor him." Rob said, continuing. "Jer's like a brother to all of us and with his girlfriend out of town, it seems like he could really use a friend right now."

"You're right, as usual. How did you get to be so wise?" Matt asked him.

"You start dating someone who changes your whole life," Rob said. "You start to see things from their perspective sometimes."

"Yeah. Hey, man. I know things have been a little off this summer, but thanks for being here. Things have just been really awkward with the others lately." Matt told him.

"Hey, we've known each other since first grade. I'll always have you're back, man." Rob pointed out. He headed out of the room.

Meanwhile, Margret had just arrived at the Grill and headed to where Amy and Alex were sitting. "Hey, what's up?"

"You guys bailed on the party. Did you guys really hate it enough to ditch?" Amy asked her. She seemed angry.

"Hey, take it easy, Amy. She probably just wanted to make sure Elena was okay." Alex said. Margret smiled, glad that he understood her. "She was kind of upset, anyway."

"You're right. I'm sorry I snapped, Margret. I'm just a little worried." Amy said. "Aunt Liz said Caroline didn't come home last night. Tyler hasn't seen her, either. He asked me if I knew where she was."

"Relax, Amy. Caroline's probably went out shopping and forgot to tell you where she was going."

"Overnight?" Amy asked.

"Well, maybe she's doing retail therapy outside of town. She's done it before, you know."

"True, in eighth grade…" Amy began, but Margret seemed concerned. It wasn't like Caroline to just up and disappear on them. Before she could think about it too hard, Elena sat next to her.

"Hey, Margret."

"Did you figure out where they are?"

"Yeah, about that. I'm taking a small trip to where they are." Elena told her. Margret glanced at Amy and Alex, who were too busy arguing about Caroline's whereabouts to notice their conversation.

"Are you sure about this?" Margret asked her. "I mean, one girl disappearing in this town is enough, but this mission is risky. If Klaus finds out you're alive…"

"I know. But I need to at least see him, Margret." Elena said. "Besides, I'm not going alone. Ric's coming." Margret still seemed concerned. "Look, I promise, we'll be back before midnight."

"Okay, I guess." Margret said. She watched as they left. She turned back to Amy and Alex who were still arguing. "Would you two give it a rest?" They looked at her.

"Hey, guys." Rob said, walking up to them. "Everything okay here?"

"Yeah, fine." Margret said. "Just the usual family drama."

"Margret, you don't have to pretend. I've known you long enough to know something's wrong when you start blowing us off."

"Really, I'm fine." Margret said. He sat down next to her.

"Look, I know it was hard losing Jenna. You two were really close." Rob said.

"Well, I think Alaric's having a harder time with it than the rest of us." Margret said. "After all, he was really into her. He moved some of his stuff out yesterday."

"Something tells me this isn't just about our history teacher."

"It's like she's doing it again." Margret explained. "It's almost like Elena feels that she has be stronger than the two of us because she feels guilty or torn. It's like she's overcompensating."

"Maybe she's just trying to protect you." Rob said. "Most older siblings have a protective instinct toward their younger sisters or brothers. Sure, she might be overdoing it, but she's been like this since the accident."

"Yeah, that's true." Margret said. "And I know she'd never hurt us."

"It's like that in all older siblings, even jerks like Damon." Rob said. Margret hit his arm playfully.

"Hey, back off. He's done a lot to help us with things at home." She told him. He shrugged, giving her an apologetic look.

"That protective thing? It happens in surrogate siblings, too." Amy said. "Or cousins." She sighed. "Care still hasn't picked up." She left.

A few minutes later, Rob got up. "Well, I've got to get back to my shift. We'll talk later."

"Okay." Margret said. "Well, this is awkward."

"Not really." Alex pointed out. "At least we're alone now."

"I guess that's a positive."

"Hey, no matter what's going on in your family, you know we're all here for you." Alex said. "We always will be." He reached over and took her hand. Margret looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Alex. It's weird, but sometimes I feel like you're the only one who gets me around here."

"I know what you mean." Alex said. "You were the only one who believed I'd make the football team."

"Sometimes all you need is one person to believe." Margret said, smiling. He leaned closer and kissed her lightly.

"I should probably go before it gets dark." Margret said. "Jeremy's been kind of distant lately."

"Well, maybe he just has a lot on his mind. You know, new job, his girlfriend's out of town…" Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe your right."

"Want me to take you home?" Alex asked.

"Sure." Margret said. They headed out to his silver car. She loved riding in the car beside him. Being around Alex just made her feel more alive and happier.

After he dropped her off at home, she'd spent most of the night in her room, working on a series of bracelets for her friends. She heard something outside her door and stepped out of her room. She was a little surprised to see Alaric.

"Hi, Margret."

"What are you doing here? I thought you left."

"I changed my mind." He told her. "Your sister makes a very convincing argument."

"She's special like that." Margret pointed out. "What happened out on that mountain?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Alaric suggested. Margret found Elena in her room, staring out the window.

"Hey."

"Hi." Elena said.

"Was there any luck?" Margret asked.

"Not really. We nearly got attacked by a werewolf that Klaus turned." Elena told her. "We managed to get out just fine, but at least we know that they're still out there."

"Something happened, didn't it?" She said, noticing that she seemed a little concerned about something.

"Damon showed up." Elena said. "He helped us out back there."

"Is he okay?" Margret asked, remembering his last encounter with a werewolf.

"Yeah, he's fine. There were no wolf bites this time." Elena told her. "Thank god. We kind of left things in an awkward place and I'm not sure what to do about it."

"I know you'll figure things out, Elena. Everything always finds a way of working out." Margret told her. Elena smiled a little.

"Thanks, Margret. I needed that."

"Good night, Elena."

"Good night." Margret headed back to her room. As soon as she walked in, she heard the door close behind her. When she turned, there was no one there. "If you're trying to scare me, it's not going to work, Damon."

She turned around and found him sitting on the bench in front of her window. "How'd you know?"

"I heard you woosh in when I was leaving Elena's room." Margret pointed out. "What brings you here? Something tells me you didn't just come by to drop Elena off."

"I wanted to let you know that you were right about earlier." Damon explained. "I thought Stef was gone, but he isn't."

"You saw him?" Margret asked.

"Yeah. I'm guessing Elena told you about our encounter with that wolf guy." She nodded. "He saved me, then he went back to Klaus. He thinks it's the only way to protect her."

"That means we still have a chance to save him, though." Margret said, getting where this was going.

"Exactly." She sat down next to him.

"Thanks for helping them out there." She said.

"Hey, I'd do anything to help them. They are two of my closest friends." He pointed out. "Even if your sister's a total pain in the neck sometimes." Margret turned to him. He'd said it gently, but he looked hurt.

"I think I get what you're going through. You're in love with her." He turned to her, looking surprised. "Relax, I won't tell anyone. Not even my twin."

"I'd do anything to help her, but she wouldn't go for a guy like me."

"Relationships take time." Margret said. "Right now, especially with the way things are going, you need to be her friend. I know it's hard, but from what I've seen, you're the first person she turns to in a crisis, no matter how small or big it is."

"Did she tell you that?"

"No, but I'm good at reading people." Margret said. "And I know my sister better than anyone."

"How come you're always helping me?" Damon asked her.

"Well, I guess it's because you're always doing the same for us." Margret said. "You help us even when you didn't need to."

"For the record, Ric asked me to come to the Summer Kick-Off party."

"True, but if you hadn't been there, I probably would've stayed stuck in that light cable by the tree." Margret pointed out.

"You know I'd always have you're back, Margie."

"I know that." Margret told him. "I'm just glad you made it out of there safe. I care about what happens to you out there, too, you know."

"Really?" He turned to her.

"Well, yeah. You're like the annoying older brother I always wanted." Margret said. "Rob's like that too, but he has a tendency to be a little overprotective."

"I get it. You know, if Stefan and I had a sister, she'd be just like you." Damon told her.

"Really? Well, I'm glad to hear that." Margret said. "It's good to know we have someone we can turn to in this, big, messed up family." She wrapped his arms around him. He seemed surprised, but slowly returned her embrace. They separated afterward.

"And for the record, I never would've left you tied in there. How'd that even happen?"

"I don't even know." Margret said. "All I know is one minute I'm walking next to Alex, and the next my leg gets tangled in the cord."

"Just try not to let it happen again." He told her. They both laughed. He stood up.

"I should probably go before Ric realizes I'm still here." Damon said. "I'll let you know how things turn out." He got up and started to leave the room.

"Hey, it's good to have you back." Margret told him.

"Well, if anyone's going to help save my brother, I might as well keep trying." He pointed out. He left the room. Margret picked up her journal and wrote in it, then fell asleep on her window seat.

Dear Diary,

Well, I suppose things could be better. Amy's freaked out about Caroline's sudden disappearance, and to be honest, I'm worried about her, too. I know she can handle things herself, but the fact she's still not back yet has me worried.

And she's not the only one. I know Stefan thinks he's doing the right thing-sticking with Klaus so he can protect Elena-but he's not the one who's been watching her slowly die inside. I almost wish there was something I could to convince him to return, instead of just waiting on the sidelines, but the last thing I need is to make Elena even more worried.

It's a good thing that we've got Damon around to help. I know he'd risk everything to save his brother. Elena and Damon could actually make a good team-if only they'd just stop fighting each other on everything, especially involving this mission. The way I see it, they're the only ones who can save Stefan from himself. This won't be easy, since teamwork doesn't always go so well for those two, but I trust both of them. I know they'll figure out a way, even if Plans A, B, and C fail. If there's one thing I know about my sister, it's that when she's determined to do something, she does it.


	42. End of the Affair

Margret was still asleep when she felt someone gently shake her shoulder. "Margret?" She tiredly threw the covers off herself and opened her eyes. Elena was sitting at the foot of her bed.

"What's going on?" Margret asked, brushing her hair out of her face. She didn't need to look in a mirror to know it was all messed up.

"I know it's early, but I just told Jeremy everything and thought I should tell you the same." Elena said. "Damon found Stefan's location. We're going to find him."

"Are you sure this time?" Margret asked.

"Yes. I don't know how he found out, but that doesn't matter. I trust him."

"So do I." Margret said.

"You sure you'll be okay here?"

"No problem. I'm going to help Amy and Tyler look for Caroline." Margret said.

"She's still not back yet?"

"No. And according to Amy, Tyler found out something the other night." Margret told her. "I just have to keep her from learning about her cousin."

"Sounds like you've got everything handled here." Elena said, getting up. "Good luck."

"You too, Elena."

A few hours later, Margret had changed into her clothes and was headed over to Caroline's with Amy and Tyler. "Thanks for coming, Margie."

"Well, someone had to do it. If my sister weren't busy, I know she'd be here." Margret pointed out.

Tyler looked in the window and saw Sheriff Forbes on the phone. He knocked on the door then. She walked over and answered the door. She looked surprised. "Tyler? Amy? Margret? What's going on?"

"I think I know who has Caroline." Tyler told her. "But I can't be sure."

"Tell me everything." Liz said as they entered.

"Hey, how about Amy and I hang out in Care's room for a while." Margret said, sharing a glance with Tyler and the Sheriff. They both knew she knew the secret and had to keep Amy from finding out.

"Okay." She told them.

"So, how are you doing with all this?"

"I'm confused, to be honest." Amy said. "Apparently Tyler's mom found something on her disappearance."

"How would she even…" Margret began, then cut herself off as she figured it out. Mrs. Lockwood knew and had put Caroline in danger. Tyler must've convinced her to help get them out of the mess, but had no idea how to.

"Anyway, Tyler figured that if anyone could help us find out where my cousin is, Aunt Liz would be it. After all, she is the sheriff." Amy said.

Tyler knocked on the door. "Could you guys come out? You might want to hear this." The girls looked at each other and walked out of the room.

"Okay, guys. I know where my daughter is." Liz said. "Tyler and I going to go find her on our own."

"But she's my cousin." Amy said. "I can't just sit around waiting."

"I'll let you know how she's doing, Amy. I promise." Liz said. "Besides, with your uncle in town…"

"Wait, Uncle Bill's in town?" Amy asked. Margret looked at her with understanding. They all knew that Bill Forbes was Amy's Uncle John. When they were freshmen, he'd tried to convince her to quit cheerleading. Even Caroline was angry with him, pointing out that Amy had the right to be whatever girl she wanted to be.

"That's news." Margret said.

"This could be dangerous." Tyler said. "And I know how to hold my own in a fight, but what if you become a hostage, too?"

"Don't worry about it, you two." Margret said. "I'll stay here with Amy in case Caroline manages to escape."

"Thank you, Margret." Sheriff Forbes said.

"Hey, you know I'm always happy to help." Margret said.

As soon as they left, Amy sat down on the couch. "Ugh! I hate that guy!" Margret knew she meant Bill.

"Yeah, he can be a bit hard-core." Margret said. "Remember when he tried to take us to that karate class?"

"Actually, that's one thing I could thank him for." Amy said. She walked over to where her old practice board was set up. In one move, she karate chopped it and it split in half. Margret stood up, impressed.

"Wow. I see you haven't lost your touch." Margret said.

"At least I didn't break the coffee table again. I was grounded for two weeks after I did that." Amy said.

"Still, I can't believe you almost quit cheering because of him."

"Well, we've all got our weird family issues." Amy said. "No offense, Margie, but your Uncle John wasn't exactly the nicest guy."

"True." Margret said. She still felt kind of sad he was gone, though. He'd given his life to keep her sister from turning. "He was a jerk, but deep down, I think he wanted to protect us. I mean, I never liked him much. Is it weird now that he's gone that I miss him?"

"Well, it's bound to be a little strange, I guess." Amy told her. "I mean, he might have been a jerk, but he's still your family. It'd take a lot to break that kind of bond."

"I guess." Margret said, turning back to Amy. "I'm just glad I can turn to you guys. You're all family, too."

"Well, we've all known each other forever." Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, but I mean it. Family doesn't always have to be blood related. It's the people you're close with that matter."

"Speaking of, how are things with you guys and Mr. Saltzman?" Amy asked.

"It hasn't been so hard with him around. Then again, when he was dating our aunt, he'd be around often, so the transition's not as difficult as you'd think." Margret said.

"That makes sense." Amy said. "Aunt Liz visits us often, so I kind of get what that's like."

A few hours later, the girls were playing cards. "How long has it been?"

"Three hours." Margret said. "I'm sure she's okay."

Suddenly, Amy's phone rang. "Hello? Yeah. Is she okay?" Amy asked. Margret watched her closely. "Oh, okay. No, no, it's fine, Aunt Liz. I'll wait up here. Okay, bye."

"What's the news?" Margret asked.

"They've got Caroline. She says she's okay, though slightly hurt." Amy said.

"If she's hurt, don't you think you should go home? Or spend the night somewhere else?" Margret asked.

"No, I think I'll stay here." Amy said. "I want to make sure she's okay."

"Well, I'm going to head home." Margret told her.

"Okay."

At home, Margret was headed upstairs when her phone rang. "Hey. How'd it go?"

"Not good." Damon told her. "Elena wouldn't even speak to me on the ride home." Margret knew what that meant. Whenever Elena was upset, she shut everyone out.

She headed up to her sister's room. "Elena?"

"It's open." Margret entered the room, and found Elena lying on her bed.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Elena said.

"Elena, you need to talk to someone about this." Margret said. "Come on. What happened in Chicago?"

"I think we're over, Margret." She gave her a quick description of what happened when she finally ran into Stefan outside. "I know he's trying to protect me, but still after all this, it kind of sucks."

"Hey, it's not all for nothing." Margret said. "He's still alive and I know you guys will find some way to help him."

"Well, there's nothing any of us can do about it right now." Elena said.

"You guys are meant for each other, Elena." Margret pointed out. "Even if it's hard right now."

"Thanks, but I just want to be alone right now, Margie."

"Okay." Margret said. She left the room, wishing there was something she could do to help her.

Amy found Caroline in her room. Tyler had his arms around her. "You guys aren't going to sleep together, are you?" She asked.

"Not tonight, especially after what she's been through." Tyler explained.

"Are you okay, Care?" Amy asked.

"Not really. I just can't believe someone I cared about could be a monster sometimes."

Amy thought of what Liz said earlier about her uncle being in town. "Did Uncle Bill do this to you?"

Caroline buried her head into Tyler's shoulder. Tyler nodded to Amy. "He thought he was helping her, but he was way wrong."

"No kidding." Amy said. "I'm just glad to see that you're safe, Caroline. If there's any way that I can help you, let me know."

"Thank you, Amy." Caroline said, smiling. "It's getting late, shouldn't you…"

"I called my parents, they know I'm staying over." Amy said. "Besides, I don't want to leave when you're like this."

"You guys really are more like sisters than cousins."

"I blame my mother for making us spend so much time together as kids." Amy told him.

"Oh, shut up." Caroline said, smiling. There was a knock at the door.

"Everything okay in here?" Liz asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, we're good, Mom." Caroline said.

"Amy, the guest room's all set."

"Thanks, Aunt Liz." Amy said. She waited until she had disappeared down the hallway before turning back to Caroline. "I'm glad you two were able to work through your issues."

"So am I." Caroline said. "I feel like we've gotten closer over the summer."

"Well, tomorrow will be better." Amy said.

"I hope you're right." Caroline told her. "Good night."

"Good night." Amy left the room, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for all of them.


	43. Disturbing Behavior

Margret was up late the next morning. After getting dressed and pulling her hair back in a headband, she headed downstairs and ran into Alaric. "Hey."

"Hey. How'd you sleep last night?"

"I kept tossing and turning. I couldn't stop thinking about the other night." Margret admitted.

"Yeah, same here." They entered the kitchen to find Elena and Damon cooking.

"Hey, Ric." Damon said. "Margret."

"What's up?" Alaric asked them.

"What time do you want to go to the Lockwood party?" Elena asked Alaric.

"Ah. Those founders parties aren't really my thing." Alaric pointed out.

"Well, I'm going. Melody finally agreed to come to one of these events." Margret said.

"Show up," Damon told Alaric. "There's going to be nine other people that brought chili."

"Hey! It's an old family recipe, okay?" Elena pointed out.

"Yeah! I know. I knew your old family. They made sucky chili." Elena laughed. Even Margret couldn't help but smile at his comment.

"Why are you here, exactly?" Alaric asked Damon.

"She knows."

"He thinks I'm going to break." Elena sighed. "I'm not going to break. I am just going to keep making chili, pretend like I didn't just spend the entire summer looking for someone who didn't want to be found." Margret looked at her. She knew she was doing it again.

"Damon, can we talk?" Margret asked. Everyone in the room looked at her.

"I guess."

They walked into the living room. "Look, about my sister, I think she's doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"You know, the thing where she hides her sadness so the rest of us aren't effected." Margret said. "Maybe it's an older sibling thing, but I doubt it."

"I know what you mean. You're not the only one who sees it." Damon told her. "The worst part about this is I want to help her. I don't know how to do that when she's in this state."

"None of us do, Damon. It's hard to speak with her when she shuts everyone out." Margret admitted.

"I know. But she can't go on like this."

"You know, she's not the only one who does this."

"I don't need to hear the speech." Damon said, moving to leave.

"I always wondered, though, how did you stop doing it?" Margret asked, freezing him in his tracks. He turned to her slowly.

"Let's just say a high school sophomore helped me see things differently." He finally told her. "I'll see you guys later." He left.

Margret felt herself blushing, so she took a deep breath, and headed upstairs.

"She is definitely in denial over what happened on that road trip." Margret said over the phone.

"Yeah, she's not the only one. Caroline had been upset the other night, and she still can't come to terms with whatever happened with Uncle Bill." Amy said. "Then again, that might be the appropriate response, because even I hate him now and I don't know what he did."

"Maybe that's for the best." Margret said. Elena had been on the phone late last night with Caroline, who kept going on about how her dad found out she was a vampire and kept burning her whenever she vamped out.

"So what if you're uncle's back in town or if your sister's having love problems?" Melody said to them.

"Well, it's not that easy, Mel." Margret said.

"We're worried about our families." Amy pointed out. "You're so lucky you're not one of the Founding ones."

"Well, I say that we should take a break from all the drama." Melody said. "We're going to put our issues behind us at the barbeque."

"I can agree to that." Amy said. "And I think I know something that can help. My cousin's headed over to your place, Margie, and she's bringing a surprise with her."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'm guessing that's her." Margret said. "So, I'll see you guys there?"

"Yep. Oh, and remember that Alex is picking us up. Mrs. Lockwood asked Rob to help set up."

Margret hung up the phone and headed downstairs. When she got down, she saw her siblings and Caroline gathered around

"Bonnie!" Margret ran over to her. "When did you get back?"

"Flew in last night. I made Caroline swear not to tell anyone." Bonnie told her, putting an arm on her shoulder. "How are you, Margie?"

"Everything's going great. Thanks to some of the sample kits you sent, I've been bursting with new ideas." Margret told her.

"Well, I'm glad things are going well with two of you guys, anyway." Bonnie said. Jeremy put his arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, things will get better." Jeremy said. "We have to believe that." The girls smiled.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Caroline asked.

"Hey, you mess with one twin, Care, you mess with both of us." Margret pointed out. Everyone laughed.

"Come on, you can tell us all about your trip." Elena said as the group headed into the living room.

A few minutes later, Bonnie finished telling them about her summer. "The problem with my dad's normal side of the family is normal made for a really boring summer." Bonnie said.

"After the last few days, I would kill for a normal family." Caroline told her. Margret put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, you always have us." Margret pointed out.

"Thanks, Margie." Caroline said. "At least you don't have to hide it from your cousins." She helped Elena out. "Since when did you learn how to cook?"

"Damon helped a little." Elena told them.

"Damon's helping you cook now?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Both of you stop judging. He's just trying to be a good... ow!" Elena flinched suddenly. Caroline jumped back.

"Did I splash you?" She asked, concerned.

"No, no, my necklace." Elena said, removing it and holding it in her hand. Margret could see a small burn near her collar bone. "It burned me."

"Now that's weird." Margret said. "Has this ever happened before?"

"No." Elena said.

"Maybe it's a sign you shouldn't be wearing it." Caroline suggested.

"Caroline..."

"What, I'm just saying. If you're going to be "cooking" without Stefan…" Caroline said.

"Look, Damon has done nothing but help us all summer." Margret pointed out. "How about you stop judging every little thing we do?"

"Let me see it." Bonnie said. Elena handed the necklace to Bonnie. Bonnie touched it and flinched as though she'd been shocked. Elena dropped it then. The group looked at each other in silence, not sure of what to make of this.

A few hours later, the girls had finally made it to the party. Margret was still with the older girls when Bonnie walked over. "I have an identification spell that might be able to tell me what magic affected the necklace." Bonnie said as Elena handed the necklace to her. "It's going to take a while, so tell me if anyone's coming, okay?"

"No problem." Margret said. Caroline turned to Elena.

"So you're not, like, switching Salvatores, are you?" Margret turned to her, shocked by her statement.

"Caroline..." Bonnie began.

"Stay focused." Caroline said.

"As your friend who worries for you daily, what is the deal with you and Damon?" Caroline asked her.

"There is no deal. He's been just as focused on finding Stefan as I have." Elena pointed out.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make him any less Damon. If my own father, who I love dearly, can't change me, No one's changing Damon. Not even you."

"So what?" Margret said. "I mean, yeah, he can be out of line sometimes, but he shouldn't have to change who he is. Even though some of the smaller changes have stuck."

"Look, why are we even talking about this?" Elena asked.

"Uh…guys?" They all turned to Bonnie only to see that Elena's necklace was levitating.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not doing anything. It has its own magic." Bonnie told them.

"Um…I think I'll leave this mystery to you guys." Margret said. "The others are probably going to wonder why I'm late."

Elsewhere, the others were all sitting on the grass close to the gazebo. Melody was tuning her acoustic guitar when Margret found them. "Hey, we were just wondering when you'd show up."

"Yeah, I kind of got caught up with Bonnie returning." Margret said, sitting down between her and Alex.

"Really? She's back from vacation?" Rob asked.

"Yeah. And speaking of which, how did you know she was back?" Margret asked Amy.

"I was eavesdropping on Caroline while she was on the phone with her." Amy admitted. "She wanted to keep it secret so that you guys would be surprised."

"So, what's been going on here?"

"You haven't missed much." Alex told her. "Apparently Rob's been practicing some card tricks lately."

"Really? Robert Parks, of all people, is actually good at it?" Margret asked.

"Well, we'll see." Rob said, pulling a deck out of the pocket of his jeans. "Pick a card, any card." Margret rolled her eyes, but took a card from the deck. She glanced at it. She'd drawn the Queen of Hearts. "Make sure no one else sees your card and place it back in the deck."

Margret did as Rob had instructed her. Then, he reshuffled the deck and picked the card from the top of the deck. "Is this your card?" He showed it to the whole group. It was the Queen of Hearts. Margret looked impressed.

"Wow, who knew you were good at card tricks?" Melody said.

"Shut up, you know I've been wanting to learn since I was nine." Rob pointed out.

"I think it's cool." Amy said, though she hadn't really been paying attention.

"Are you okay?" Margret asked. Then she remembered the other day. "It's Bill, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I thought I saw him while I was in town." Amy said. "I'm really worried about how his being here is effecting my family."

"Is it that bad?" Alex asked her.

"Are you kidding? Care won't even talk to me, and Aunt Liz is keeping quiet about everything, not that that's new." Amy said. "She always gets like that when she's in work mode." The others looked at each other and knew they had to get her mind off it.

"Hey, I've been working on a couple of new tunes." Melody said. "You guys want to hear it?" Everyone agreed.

"Good thing you brought that acoustic with you today." Amy said.

"Please, she always brings it when it's particularly nice out." Rob said. "She brought it to the park with her at least three times over the summer that I know of."

"Hey, you never know when inspiration will hit you." Melody pointed out. She began to strum her guitar, playing a very upbeat tune that made Margret think of the days the group had spent at the park. One day they'd gone there to relax and tossed a frisbee around for a few hours. Another time they'd gone at night to go stargazing. The wind had been almost as light and gentle as the song Melody was playing.

Margret unexpectedly found herself leaning against Alex and blushed. "Hey." She said.

"I'm glad you're here." Alex said. "How's everything going with your family?"

"Well, Elena's trying to put on a brave face and I've barely spoken to my twin all summer." Margret told him. "Some days are better than others, but it feels like there's a wall dividing us."

"Things will get better with you guys." Alex said. "You three can manage almost anything the world can throw at you."

"Only because we have help." Margret pointed out, smiling. He kissed her forehead.

Melody strummed the last few notes of her song and glanced at the group. "That was amazing, Melody." Amy said.

"I've been working on it for a long time." Melody said, smiling. She loved it when she could make her music make people feel good.

"You're definitely going to be a pro one day." Rob agreed.

"Thanks a lot, bro." Melody said.

"So, Amy, how's the new design sketch coming?" Rob asked. Amy had done a series of clothing sketches over the summer.

"Honestly, I'm kind of blocked." Amy told him. "I was trying to do a pattern on a dress, but it's been a struggle to figure out which pattern to go with, cause I don't want to do anything that's already been overdone…"

"Sounds like she's back to her old self." Alex said. Margret nodded.

After a few hours of hanging out, the group was getting ready to leave. Margret and Amy found Elena and Caroline talking. "Did Stefan ever tell you where he got the necklace?" Caroline asked.

"No. And I never asked." Elena told her. "Hopefully Bonnie will be able to figure it out."

"I hope so, cause I can't shake this bad feeling I'm getting." Margret said. Alaric came over then.

"Please tell me it's time to go."

"Beyond. Where's Damon?" Elena asked.

"Probably off somewhere doing bad things to good people." The whole group stared at her. "Consider me the honesty police." She said.

"Considering he's been helping my aunt…your mother," Amy pointed out. "I have to disagree with that statement." But Caroline had stopped listening. She looked nervous.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"What the matter?"

"It's my dad." Caroline said. All four of them turned and saw Bill head into the mansion.

"It really is him. I thought you were exaggerating the other day." Amy said, looking surprised and feeling worried for her.

"Why would he even show up here?" Elena asked.

"I don't know. But I can't..." Caroline began.

"I get it. I'll call you later." Elena said.

"And you know I've got your back at home, just in case." Amy told her. Caroline smiled, then ran into the building.

"Okay, what's that all about?" Alaric asked.

"Speaking of doing bad things to good people..." Elena said.

"I swear, Uncle Bill can be a real pain in the…" Amy began.

"Amy!" Margret said.

"What, you know it's true." Amy pointed out.

"You know, why don't we go back to your place?" Margret said. "I just need to get away from all of this for a while."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Amy told her. "You know, I think I have that karaoke game somewhere."

"As long as it gets our minds off our family problems, I don't care what we do." Margret said as she led Amy away from the group.

About two hours later, Caroline texted the girls to meet them in town. They found her with Elena. "Hey. How are you guys?"

"Well, we got into a fight." Caroline said.

"About what?" Margret asked. Caroline looked at her. "Oh." She said, understanding.

"The good news is that Dad's leaving town."

"Oh, thank God!" Amy said. "Cause if I had to run into him one more time…"

"Relax, Amy. It's over." Caroline told her.

Margret walked over to where Elena was sitting. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"Not really." Elena admitted.

"What happened?"

"Oh, the usual. I got Damon angry with me, again, and Caroline thinks that I'm attracted to him." Elena explained.

"Okay, the first part I understand, but I think Caroline's reading too much into this." Margret said.

"Yeah, but part of me wonders if Care's right. And if it is true, it almost feels like…"

"Like you're giving up on Stefan?" Margret said, finishing her thought. "Lena, even if you are attracted to Damon, it doesn't mean you're turning your back on his brother."

"I know, but things have been complicated lately. I haven't felt this confused since the night I woke up in the hospital." Elena said.

"You're not alone. You still have me." Margret said. "I'm sure this will work out somehow. Both of them are an important part of your life, and bonds like that don't disappear for good."

"Thanks, Margret."

"I might be new at the relationship thing, but I know a lot about my family." Margret told her. Elena smiled slightly. "Don't worry about this whole Damon thing. I'm sure you guys will make up soon."

"I really hope you're right. I don't think I'd ever seen him this angry."

"He worries about you." Margret said. "Just like the rest of us. He might go too far sometimes, but I guess that's just who he is."

"I know, it was stupid to try and change him."

"Well, I think he has changed, just not in the way you think." Margret told her. "At first, I thought he was this guy who did bad things to people, but after everything we went through last year, it looks like he's become a little more understanding and developed compassion."

"Wait, did you really just use the word compassion to describe Damon?" Elena asked.

"Well, I only call it like I see it. I mean, he's been trying to save his brother, his best friend is Ric, and after today, I think he actually has respect for Caroline." Margret told her. Elena smiled and put an arm around her shoulder.

"You know, I think you're right. When did my sister get to be so smart?"

"I learned from the best sister in the world." Margret said. They hugged each other tightly. After a few long minutes, they pulled away from each other.

"We should probably get home before Ric wakes up." Elena said. Margret raised an eyebrow. "Long story."

"We can cut through the park." Margret said. "We'd get back home faster than we would if we walked from the Grill."

"How'd you find out about that shortcut?" Elena asked, surprised she even knew about it.

"Alex showed it to me on our first date." Margret told her as they started walking toward the park.


	44. Chapter 44

The Gilbert's house was pretty quiet that night. Margret was in the living room when Alaric entered. "You sure you girls don't need anything?" Melody and Amy were sitting between Margret, watching some horror parody film.

"We'll be fine, Alaric." Margret told him. "You haven't seen my twin, have you?"

"No, but knowing him, he's probably crashed Prank Night with the others. I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

"Seriously, would you stop worrying?" Amy asked. "He's probably right about Jeremy."

"I doubt it." Margret told them. "I haven't been able to reach him since we got back from the Lockwoods' house."

"On the bright side, he's not here to crash our sleepover." Melody pointed out.

"Still mad about the last time?" Margret asked.

"Give it a rest, Mel, we were like, ten." Amy pointed out.

"And I had never been more embarrassed in my life." Melody said.

"Well, enough of these stupid movies." Amy said. "How about we do karaoke?"

"Good idea." Margret said. "How do we want to do this? Individually or as a team?"

"Are you kidding? I'm horrible at solo work." Amy said.

"Okay, but I'm picking the song." Melody told them. They nodded in agreement.

Five minutes later, the girls had collapsed on the sofa, laughing. "Wow, that was an interesting song choice." Margret said.

"Well, I have been working on my look over the summer in addition to my sound. Figured my attitude could use a little change as well."

"Still, I thought you hated Obsession when you first heard it." Amy said.

"No, you're thinking of that Britney song. By the way, still can't stand that one." Melody told her.

"Yeah, that was definitely not one of her best." Margret agreed. Just then her phone vibrated.

"Is that your boyfriend calling?" Amy asked.

"No. Besides, you know the sleepover rules. No guys, period. Alex understands that." Margret pointed out. She checked sender of the message. The name Bonnie popped up on her screen. She looked at it immediately.

-Klaus is back. Have you heard from Jeremy?

Margret texted her back:

No. I haven't seen him since this morning. Why?

A few seconds later, Bonnie responded.

Because we're in trouble. Klaus said if we can't find a spell to save Tyler, to help him transition into a hybrid, he'll kill Elena. We haven't been able to reach your brother.

Margret set her phone down. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on over there. Then she wondered if Klaus was somehow responsible for her twin's disappearance. She quickly pushed it aside, though, since he didn't even know that she and Jeremy existed. At least, for now he didn't.

Suddenly, the entire room went dark. The lights just seemed to have gone out. "What's going on?" Melody asked.

"I don't know." Margret told her. She got up and tried flicking the light switch. Nothing. She was afraid of that. "The power's out."

"Great." Amy said. "That's just great. Why does this happen every time we come here at night?"

"Are you okay?" Melody asked her. "You're shivering."

"But our air conditioning system isn't connected to the same electric…" Margret began to explain. Then she realized it. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"I hate it when the power goes out." Amy said. "Ever since that séance attempt went wrong. You don't know this, but I had nightmares for weeks after that."

"And mine's just beginning." Margret said. "Do you remember that stalker I told you about just before we lost Jenna?"

"Yeah, I remember." Melody said. "Wait, are you saying that he's back?"

"I'm afraid so, guys. And now I'm wondering if Jer's absence has anything to do with it. And I can't reach Elena. I tried to text her just as the power went out and haven't gotten an answer since."

"Are you sure she didn't just turn her phone off?" Amy asked.

"She never, ever turns it off." Margret said. "I'm really worried about them." Her phone rang. She checked the caller ID, then answered. "Hello?"

"Margret? Is everything okay?"

"Alex?"

"I know it's girls night and all, but I was just walking across the street and saw the lights in your house go out."

"I don't know what the heck happened." She told him.

"It's probably just one of those brown outs. They've been occurring a lot lately." Alex pointed out. "The lights will probably come back on soon enough."

"You could be right." Margret said. "Hey, just wondering. Have you heard from Rob?"

"Yeah, he said prank night got busted. He was on his way home last time I saw him."

"Well, that's good to know." Margret was relieved to know that at least one of her friends out there was still safe. "I'll see you at school, I guess."

"Yeah. Bye, Margret." They both hung up at the same time.

"So, your boyfriend have anything interesting to say?" Amy asked.

"Will you relax already?"

"I can't help it. I'm on edge."

"Well, Alex did say that a few brown outs have been taking place around the neighborhood." Margret pointed out. "Lights should come back on at any minute."

Sure enough, about an hour later, the lights turned back on. "Guess she was right." Amy said. "It was just a brown out."

"Don't you think she's been a little jumpy tonight?" Melody asked.

"Maybe, but if she's nervous, she has every right to be. It's the first sleepover she's had since Jenna…"

"Right. How could I have forgotten?" Melody said. She seemed a little insecure. "Do you think I'm too insensitive?"

"How can you even say that? You've been there for Margret ever since she lost her parents. If anything, you're a better friend than I am."

"That's not true and you know it." Melody pointed out. "Anyway, I just feel like I haven't been there for her lately. We've only really spoken a few times these past few months."

"She's still coping with everything. I mean, with the way things have been going on in her life, I don't blame her." Amy said. "No one should go through what she's been through."

Meanwhile, Margret was sitting on the couch. Her twin finally texted her back. He'd written that he was with Katherine trying to track down someone who could help them with the "Klaus problem". She figured that Katherine was probably the reason he'd disappeared earlier. She texted him back.

What else is going on?-M

A few minutes later, he texted her back:

Damon's headed to the school to help the others out. I'm still stuck trying to find this Mikael guy.

How'd you get stuck with that?

I should've told you before, I can see ghosts now. Vicki and Anna have been appearing all summer. Anna's the one leading us to him.

Margret seemed a little surprised, but she'd learned to expect the unexpected, especially since there were vampires, werewolves, and witches in their town. She texted him back, knowing he was waiting for a response.

Well, I really hope it works. The others are really counting on you guys.

I'd never let them hurt our older sister, you know that.

Suddenly, she felt something soft hit her legs. She picked up the object. It was a pillow. She looked up at Melody and Amy. Melody was holding her own pillow in one hand.

"You've been on that phone for almost fifteen minutes." Amy pointed out. "We came here to have a good time, remember?"

"Sorry, I was just checking in with Jeremy. He had to go out of town to run an errand." Margret said, getting up from the couch. "What do you say we take this upstairs?"

A few minutes later, they were in Margret's room, having a pillow fight. "Don't you guys think we're a little old for this?" Melody asked, ducking as another pillow came flying at her.

"No way, you're never too old for these kinds of things." Amy pointed out, hitting her in the arm with the pillow she was holding.

"Okay, enough, guys." Margret said. "It's really getting late. We should get some rest. After all, we have school tomorrow."

"Ugh, I hate when you're right sometimes." Melody said.

"On the bright side, you'll be able to focus on turning the school band around." Amy pointed out. While the two of them talked, Margret's phone rang. She checked the caller ID, then answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Margie." She heard Damon say.

"Hey. How is everything?" Margret asked. "Is Elena okay?"

"She's okay, but she's in shock. And after what happened, I don't blame her." He explained how while he was gone, Klaus compelled Stefan to shut off his humanity. He sighed. "I should've been there."

"Even if you were, there's nothing you could've done to keep Klaus from compelling him." Margret told him. "I'm just happy that you made it in time to save her."

"Well, at least that's one thing I did right."

"Hey, the way I see it, you didn't do anything wrong. You left because you were mad at her, you would never leave her in danger on purpose."

"I'll have her home in a few hours." Damon told her.

"You think she'll be okay?" Margret asked. There was a short pause.

"I hope so, Margie."

"Damon, she's going to need you." Margret said. "I don't know how she can pull through this without you helping her."

"I will always protect her, Margret. I can promise you that."

"Thanks." Suddenly, Margret yawned, her hand covering her mouth.

"Good night, Margret."

"Good night." She hung up the phone, then joined her friends on her bed.

"Hey, how's everything going?" Melody asked.

"They're okay." Margret said. "I'll be fine."

"Let's get some rest." Amy said. "We're all tired." It didn't take long for all of them to fall asleep.


	45. Smells Like Teen Spirit

The next morning, the group stood in the school parking lot. Margret looked around. She knew she was being silly, but the fact that the Originals were back freaked her out a little. "Looking for your boyfriend?" Melody asked.

"At least she's dating within the same year." Amy said. "Rob's a senior now. It might be the last time the five of us will be together. I mean, for all I know, once he heads off to college…"

"Hey, you have nothing to worry about." Rob told her. She jumped, startled for a moment, then relaxed when she saw him. "No matter what happens, you're the only girl I have eyes for." Amy blushed and got on her toes to kiss him.

"Cheer up, guys." Melody said. "Sure, some of our family members might be leaving at the end of the year, but right now, things are just starting. And besides, they're family. They'll always come back."

"Melody brings up a good point." Alex said as he and Jeremy caught up to the group.

"How are you holding up this morning?" Jeremy asked his twin.

"I'm okay." Margret told him. "How are you?"

"Well, I woke up with a slight headache. You can thank Damon for that." Jeremy said. "Otherwise, I'm fine."

"Good to know." Margret said, not even wanting to know what he did this time.

"I'm going to go catch up with Bonnie." Jeremy said. He headed inside.

"Well, ready to face junior year?" Alex asked Margret.

"Are you kidding? We are going to seriously kick butt now that we're officially part of the cheer squad." Margret said. "We got the real uniforms a couple weeks ago."

"Is it okay if I walk you to your first class?" Alex asked her.

"I'd like that." Margret said.

As they headed down the hallway, they saw Jeremy talking with Bonnie. She walked away from him. "Whoa. What was all that about?" Alex asked.

"I don't know." Margret said. "I'm going to talk to him. I'll meet you in class, okay?" Alex nodded and walked away. She walked over to her brother. "Did you do something to make her angry?"

"I don't know. She's been dodging my calls." Jeremy said. "Ever since I told her about seeing Vicki and Anna…"

"Wait, I thought they were…"

"They are."

"Then how…" Margret pulled him aside as a group passed by. "Are you seeing ghosts?"

"I've been seeing them all summer. It's just those two, though." Jeremy said. "And now Bonnie seems to be angry with all this."

"Well, Anna is your ex and you never got a chance to see her again. What did you think would happen?" Margret asked.

"Anna helped us find something that could help with the Original problem." Jeremy said. "She said I could decide whether or not I see them."

"Well, that's probably true." Margret told him. "If what I know about spirits is true, is that they usually only appear to people who call them or think of them. At least I think that's how it works, the reality's so complicated."

"You're telling me!" Jeremy said.

"When did you first see them anyway?" Margret asked.

"The night I was shot." He told her.

"I wonder if it happened because you were so close to death. People who've had near-death experiences sometimes get powers like seeing ghosts or auras." Margret explained.

"Now you tell me."

"You didn't ask, and you also didn't say anything about it to anyone." Margret pointed out. Just then, the bell rang. "Late on the first day, not good!" They both ran to get to their classes.

During the next break, she and the others met Amy in the hallway. "Hey, guys. You have any plans for tonight?" Amy asked.

"They're still doing the bonfire this year?" Melody asked, looking at the flyer. "After all the trouble last time?"

"It'll be different this year. Everyone's sticking in groups for safety." Rob said. "I've already heard from Caroline and the others about it."

"Well, I'll definitely be there." The group looked at Margret.

"Really? You're coming, Margie?" Amy asked.

"Yeah. I've learned a lot over the last year and I still don't like the woods, but there are worse things to go through." Margret said.

"If you get nervous, we'll be with you." Alex told her.

"Thanks, Alex."

"Now if only cheerleading practice was that easy." Melody said.

That afternoon, the girls were at cheerleading practice. Alex was on the other half of the field with the football team. They were stretching. "Has anybody seen Dana?" Someone asked.

Caroline looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" Margret asked.

"She's…she's in the hospital. Won't get out for weeks." Caroline told the group. She exchanged a glance with Margret that let her know that Dana wouldn't be returning to the team.

"Sounds like you have an opening on the squad." An unfamiliar voice with a British accent spoke up. The girls turned and noticed a fairly tall, blonde girl had joined their group. The girls watched her while Caroline spoke to her.

"Have either of you seen that girl before?" Amy asked. They both shook their heads.

"She must be new around here." Melody said. "I wonder where she transferred from."

"Something seems off about her." Margret said as she joined the other girls.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"You know what, never mind." Margret said. "I'm probably just paranoid." The new girl gave her a weird feeling though. "Let's just try to make her feel comfortable here, for now."

Alex came over to Margret a few minutes later. "Hey, I thought practice just started."

"That's what I thought too. Coach just dismissed us." Alex said.

"What? Why would he…" Then Margret saw Tyler and Caroline arguing. Elena told her that Klaus turned him into a hybrid before they left for school. That meant he had vampire powers now.

"I know, it's weird. But at least I can take a break before tonight." Alex shrugged.

"Whoa, check out the new girl!" They heard Amy say. They both turned and saw the blonde from before doing some impressive gymnastics moves.

"Wow. She's got moves." Alex said, looking impressed. Margret glared at him, then walked back over to her team.

"That was amazing. How'd you learn those moves?" Melody was asking her as Margret approached.

"I'm a fast learner, I guess." The blonde said. "I've spent a couple nights watching videos of simple routines like that."

"Simple? We've had to take years of practice to get good at moves like that." Amy said.

"Like I said, I learn fast."

"Well, it looks like your part of team now." Margret said, trying to stay friendly and polite. "Just try not to step on Care's toes. She's kinda the captain."

"I'll try not to." The blonde said. "Can't promise anything, though."

"I like your shirt." Amy said. "It really brings out your eyes."

"Thank you."

"I'm Amy, by the way. Care's cousin. These are my friends, Melody and Margret."

"Nice to meet you all."

"What about you, new girl? Got a name?" Margret asked as the blonde turned to leave.

"Rebekah."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rebekah." Melody said. "But Margret and I have to go, get ready for the bonfire tonight."

"I'll see you there, then." She said as they walked away.

Margret sat down on the bench and noticed she had a text message from Elena.

-Meet us in the classroom before the bonfire, we've got a situation.

Margret put her phone in her bag, then headed to the locker room to shower and change clothes. "So, how's everything with Elena?" Melody asked her.

"Oh, you know. The usual senior year anxiety." Margret said. "She's worried about us."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My parents have become overprotective, and even Rob's more jumpy than usual." Melody said. "At least I have my DJ-ing as a small job."

"Yeah, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat." Margret said. "I don't know how we're going to get through this if she keeps worrying every ten seconds."

"I know." Melody said. "I started working on new songs I can't finish just to avoid talking to my family."

"Anyway, I should go. I promised I'd meet with Elena before the bonfire."

"See you there." Melody said.

About ten minutes later, Margret entered Ric's classroom. Elena, Damon, and Alaric were already there. "Sorry I'm late." Margret turned and saw Caroline behind her.

"Actually, you're just in time." Elena said. "So, we need a plan to put Stefan down for a while. At least until Klaus' compulsion on him breaks. There's no telling what he'll do without his humanity."

"I know. And since we're on the subject, is there any way we can kick that Original blonde bitch out of our lives?" Caroline said.

"Whoa! Back up!" Margret looked surprised. "Rebekah's an Original vampire?"

"Apparently." Damon said. He turned to Elena. "I thought you told them everything."

"We were in a rush this morning, and thanks to the blood loss, I may have left out a couple details." Elena said.

"Can we please focus here? We need to come up with a plan." Alaric pointed out.

"I know, but still…" Margret was still surprised.

"I know it's a shock, but it's true." Caroline told her. "And it feels like Rebekah's interested in taking over our lives."

"I don't know. I think there's more to her than that." Margret said. "If she's only here because she's out for revenge or on "doppelganger watch" or whatever, why would she join the cheerleading squad?"

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't trust her."

"Well, you know what they say, keep your enemies closer." Margret said.

"Okay, I think I have an idea." Elena said. They spent the next hour going the plan.

"So, is everyone clear on what we have to do?" Damon asked.

"I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire." Elena said. "Then when he's distracted..."

"I'll shoot him." Alaric finished.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena said. "Margret, be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep my group from getting too close to you guys." Margret said. "Our junior year's going to be hard enough, if they get involved now..."

"You're really brave to keep them out of it, Margret." Alaric said.

"Caroline, are you covered?" Elena asked.

"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready."

"We're forgetting a key player here." Damon said. "Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow."

"Which is why it's your job to keep her away." Elena told him.

"How?! She's an Original. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers."

"So then preoccupy her with your charm."

"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric said. Margret closed her eyes and pinched the bridge between her nose and forehead. She was getting really sick of everyone fighting.

"Are ever not going to be mad at me for a day?"

"Doubtful."

That's when Tyler arrived. "Sorry I'm late. What's going on?"

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply. Enough to keep Stefan down for a while." Elena told him.

"You can't do that to Stefan." Tyler said.

"Why not?" Caroline asked.

"Trust me, Tyler, it's in his best interest." Elena explained.

"Yeah. It's not in Klaus's." Margret looked at him, wondering what was going on.

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler." Caroline said. "You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" She asked, sounding more furious with every word.

"Uh oh." Margret turned to Damon and raised an eyebrow.

"You know something, don't you?" He nodded.

"Let's just say it's not good."

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything." Tyler said.

"Even after what he put my sister through the other night?" Margret snapped, turning her attention to him. "Do you even care that she almost died?"

"But she didn't." He pointed out.

"Okay, what is going on?" Elena asked.

"You know what, screw this. I'm outta here." Tyler turned to leave. Then Damon rushed forward and plunged a vervain dart into him, knocking him out.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline asked, running to her unconscious boyfriend on the ground.

"He's been sired." Damon said.

"What?"

"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood created him." Damon explained.

"Loyal how?" Elena asked.

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids."

"So how do I fix him?" Caroline asked.

"Get a new boyfriend."

"Is this really the time to crack jokes like that?" Margret asked. "Never mind. I'm going." She got up and walked to the classroom door.

"Hey," She felt a hand on her arm. She turned around, facing Damon. "I know you're worried about everyone."

"I am just so tired of fighting everyone all the time." Margret sighed. "It's only going to get harder, isn't it?"

"Probably. But the important thing is not to give up on the people we still believe in." Margret smiled.

That night, Margret made it to the bonfire. "Hey, guys."

"You made it!" Amy said.

"I said I would. Doesn't make this place any less creepy, though."

"Hey, isn't that Rebekah over there?" Melody asked. The girls turned and saw her talking with someone.

"She is so lucky. She could probably get any guy she wanted, even if they were taken." Amy said.

"Hey, there's not much we can do about it." Melody said. "And besides, I know my brother wouldn't go for her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Let's just say he doesn't like blondes." Melody told her. "We've all got a type." Margret nodded.

"Hey, there you are." Alex said, walking over to them. "Rob and I saved you a place near one of the fire pits."

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, the five of them were seated around a fire. They talked about how their first day of classes went. "Yeah, it was weird." Rob said. "This new transfer student showed up."

"Let me guess, she was blonde?" Melody asked.

"How did you know?"

"Cause she forced her way into the cheerleading squad." Amy said. "But I will admit, she does have some killer moves."

"Yeah, that's true." Melody said. "Heck, she could take my spot on the dance team any day."

"I wouldn't go that far." Margret said. "You're the best dancer and musician that I know."

"Thanks."

"Still, it's weird that she transferred for her senior year of high school, isn't it?" Alex pointed out.

"I don't know, maybe there was a delay with her old school's exchange program or something." Margret said. She sighed. Even she didn't believe that.

"Any of you want anything?" Rob asked.

"No thanks. I am staying sober." Amy said. The others declined as well.

Margret hoped that she'd be able to keep her friends safe from everything. Taking hold of her charm bracelet, she whispered a few words that she'd found written on one of her books. The thing was, she wasn't the one who'd written them.

"Check it out." Melody said. Margret broke her concentration and turned to where the girls were looking. "Looks like Damon's moving onto the new girl."

"Should we warn her about him?" Amy asked.

"It couldn't…" Melody began.

"No, actually, I think she'll be okay." Margret said. "Rebekah's much stronger than she looks. She can handle herself if he tries anything with her."

"I guess you're right." Amy said. "Still, it seems weird."

"Have you met Damon?" Melody asked. "He's not exactly what I'd call normal." Margret laughed. If only she knew the truth.

"True, but he did help get your Uncle Bill out of town after he hurt your cousin." Alex pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess I kind of respect him a little." Amy admitted. "I don't know if I trust him, though."

"Trust me, he's the type who'd do anything to keep this town safe." Margret said. "If it came down to it, he'd put his life on the line for any one of you."

"Can we not talk about this? It's bad enough there are men at war overseas." Alex said.

"You never told us that your father…"

"It's not my father. I have a cousin serving time over there." Alex said. "He was sent in a couple weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Margret asked. "I would've understood if you didn't want to hang out because of that."

"I didn't want to talk about it." Alex said. "Besides, it's not like we're close. The news just came as a shock."

"That explains why you skipped movie night." Amy said.

"Amy, we all ended up leaving anyway. No one wants to watch a movie about war." Melody pointed out. "I stick with musical comedies."

"Yeah, we know." Alex said.

"You're telling me. I would've probably strangled you if you made us watch that one in the mall at our sleepover the other night." Margret said.

"No kidding. I think I have all those songs memorized now." Amy said.

"I can't help that it's my favorite one." Melody said. "At least it was better than one of those Disney ones or Hairspray."

"The love plotline wasn't even resolved." Amy pointed out. "The main couple get into a fight, then they sing a duet together and somehow make up, but still…"

"Okay, I'll admit that was one of it's weak points." Melody said.

"The last time I saw it, I had I'm A Survivor stuck in my head for a month." Margret said.

They spent the next hour talking about their favorite movies and musicals. Margret found herself feeling more relaxed than she had been in months. "Margret." She turned to Alex. "Are you going to answer that?" She didn't get it, then she realized her cell phone was ringing.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Margret said, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Margret." She heard her legal guardian say. "You still at the bonfire?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Margret asked.

"Well, something's happened." Alaric said. "We're all okay, but…look, we'll explain when you get home, okay?"

"Sure." Margret told him. She hung up.

"Everything okay?" Melody asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Margret told her. "Just…family stuff."

"So, I didn't know you played, too." Amy was telling Rob.

"Well, yeah. When we were kids, we were always taking turns playing our dad's old acoustic guitar." Rob said. "When I got older, I was more interested in sports, but I still play guitar sometimes."

"My brother's the one who taught me how to play." Melody told the others. "It's what inspired my love for music."

"I always wondered who taught you to play so good." Alex said. He turned to Rob. "It was really cool of you to teach her that."

"That was nothing. When we were kids, we formed a small band in our garage with a few of the other neighbor kids." Rob said.

"I remember that. You invited the three of us to listen one day." Amy said.

"Those were some awesome times." Margret said.

"Well, we may have changed, but our being friends never will." Alex pointed out. Margret smiled, feeling his fingers lace with hers. Rob put his arm around Amy's shoulder and took Melody's hand with his free one.

By the time Margret got home, she felt good about overcoming her fear of the forest. She really did have the greatest friends. She entered the living room and found Alaric. "Hey, Ric."

"Hey, you guys make it okay tonight?"

"Yeah, we stayed on the far side of the woods, far from Rebekah and whoever else was there." Margret told him. "So, what happened?"

"Someone tried to blow up my car with Elena inside it."

"What?"

"I'm fine." Her sister said. She hadn't noticed Elena was sitting on the couch when she entered. She looked a little worse for the wear, but okay. "We all made it out okay."

"How the heck did it happen?" Margret asked.

"I don't know." Alaric said. "One minute I'm outside the car, the next thing I know it's on fire."

"And I didn't see anyone else near the car before or after it was set on fire." Elena said. "I think it may have been a ghost."

Margret groaned. "Even when she's gone, she haunts us." They looked at her. "Vicki's the only person I can think of that would do something so stupid."

"Well, we're not going to have to worry about her anymore." Jeremy said, entering the room. "Bonnie just helped Matt send her away."

"Well, I've had enough excitement for one day." Margret said. "I'm going to bed."

After she had changed into her pajamas and freshened up in the bathroom, she heard a noise in her bedroom. When she got in there, it was just as empty as it had been when she left it. She had just sat down on the bed when she heard it again. She quickly reached under bed for a spray bottle.

"There's no need for that." She heard a voice say. She relaxed and set the bottle next to her night stand.

"You know, if you're going to keep doing these midnight visits, you could give a little more warning." Margret said.

"Can't help that I pop in when I feel like it" Damon said. Margret got under the covers.

"Well, it's been one very weird day." Margret said.

"You're telling me. My brother has no humanity, and I had to pretend to be interested in Klaus' sister."

Margret let out a small laugh. "Yeah, can't beat your sister almost getting fried by a ghost."

"How are you handling all this, anyway?" Damon asked, sitting near her.

"I'm a little worried about Rebekah." Margret said. "She seems nice, but I am tired of not knowing who to trust when it comes to all this."

"I know what you mean." Damon said. "At least we can still trust each other, at least."

"With everything going on around here lately, I think you're the only vampire I trust." Margret told him.

"Probably not the smartest move." He pointed out

"Hey, we both need all the friends we can get. Especially when we're going through this mess."

"You really think we'll be able to bring my brother back to his old, annoying self?" Margret smiled.

"I know we will. If anyone could bring him back, it'd be you and my sister." She yawned, covering her mouth.

"You should get some sleep. If the next few days are anything like this one, you're going need it."

"No kidding." Margret said. Damon got up to leave. "Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

"Sure." He said, smiling. He sat down on the window seat, keeping an eye on her. He really cared about Margret. She was like a little sister to him.

It was a little messed up she was pulled into this, but he knew she could manage her friends and that if anything happened to any of the Gilbert kids, anyone who threatened them would pay big time. He knew she was fully asleep when he heard her breathing relax. He quietly left the house without anyone seeing him.


	46. Ghost World

That weekend, Margret, Melody, Alex, and Amy were all helping set up for the Night of Illuminations event. They were in the crowd listening to Carol's speech.

"What are we doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"Tobias fell is the head of the history department. I didn't have a choice." Alaric told him.

"And most of the Junior class signed up for this." Margret pointed out. "Besides, there's no way Amy would let us bail."

"We may as well do something productive with our time." Amy said. "It's better than staying in watching music videos all day."

"That explains what_ you're_ doing here." Jeremy said.

"Well, I'm the one who can fail you if you don't help me out." Alaric told him.

"Seriously, Jer. You've got to stop dragging everyone down." Melody said.

"I can't believe she used to have a crush on him." Margret told Alex. He nodded. She could see her sister running over to them. She was unusually late this morning.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. What did I miss?"

"You didn't miss anything." Jeremy told her.

"Where were you, anyway?" Margret whispered as they listened to Tobias' speech.

"Out. I'll tell you about it later." Elena explained.

A couple hours later, Margret was sitting with the rest of her family outside the Grill. Alex had left to let the rest of her group know she'd be running late. Elena had a few journals set out on the table.

"Hey, Jer, I need you to help me with something." Elena said.

"What's up?"

"I've been going through Stefan's old journals. Every single time that he's gone off the rails in the past, his best friend Lexi's been the one to bring him back." She explained.

"So where is she now that we need her?" Alaric asked.

Jeremy sighed. "She's dead. And you want me to try to reach her, don't you?"

"I thought if I knew how she did it, maybe I could help him." Elena admitted.

"She has a point," Margret said. "Besides, if we can reach her, we could prevent a lot of people from getting hurt."

"I wish it were that easy," Jeremy told them. "I don't even know if she's on the Other Side."

"Is that what it's called?" Elena asked.

"That's what Anna calls it." He explained. "There's not like an official brochure or anything."

"So what is it, like some sort of supernatural purgatory?" Alaric asked him.

"Well, Anna said it's like being here with all of us, only we can't see or hear her." Jeremy told them. "And she can't interact with anyone. She's all alone."

"Vicki could interact. She blew up my car." Alaric pointed out.

"Vicki had help from a witch on the other side. Anna...She's doing this all by herself." Margret kind of felt bad for her, even though she barely even knew the girl when she was alive. But she knew Jeremy had really liked her.

"I'm just saying, maybe we learned our lesson about summoning dead people." Alaric said.

"Believe me, I stopped trying before I found out all this was real." Margret told them. Elena gave her sympathetic look. She knew how much her little sister had wanted to believe their parents were still out there somewhere.

"Margret…"

"It's fine, Elena. I've accepted the fact that they're gone. When you're living in a town with vampires, you just get used to it." Margret told her. Sometimes, she still wondered what they'd think of all this if they were alive.

Meanwhile, Melody and Amy were hanging lanterns in near the park. "Hey, you're the design expert. Should this one be higher or lower?" She asked Amy. The brunette girl took a good look at the position in comparison to the other lanterns hanging nearby.

"I think it's fine where it is." Amy finally told her. "Just make sure it's secure." Melody finished tying it to the branch, then climbed down the short latter.

"Thanks. You're better at this decorating stuff than I thought."

"It must run in the family." Amy shrugged. After all, she'd helped Caroline decorate so many parties and dances, it just came naturally to her. She and Melody glanced around at the lanterns other members of the school and community had hung up on the opposite side.

"Everyone did an awesome job this year." Melody said. Suddenly, a wind blew past them. It sent a shiver down both their spines. They looked at each other.

"Did you feel that, too?" Amy asked. Melody nodded.

"I wonder if it's going to rain. Usually when I feel something like that…"

"So do I, but it felt different." Amy told her. She felt kind of spooked out by it.

Back at the Grill, Margret was sitting back in her chair. "Do you think it's even possible to contact Lexi?" Elena asked Jeremy.

"I don't know. I didn't have an emotional connection with her. I never even met her."

"Well, I have an idea of what she looks like, if you think that'll help." Margret suggested.

"Yeah, but seeing someone from a distance isn't the same thing. I'm not sure knowing what she looks like would help." Jeremy pointed out.

Margret sighed, knowing he was right. From all the books she read on the subject, she knew the best way to connect with a ghost is if they had a connection with a human when they were alive. As far as she knew, vampires counted as alive unless they were staked in the heart.

"Can we just drop it, please?" Alaric asked.

"No, I can't drop it, Ric. I don't know what else to do." Elena said.

"Don't you think we have a few too many dead vampires in our past to be sitting here thinking of them watching us?" Alaric pointed out.

"That is the last thing any of us want to think about." Margret said. She set her glass down on the table. It shook slightly. She couldn't think of a time when she'd felt more scared. After taking a couple of calming breaths, she noticed Jeremy looking at an empty chair.

"Is Anna here right now?" Elena asked.

"No. I'm going to go, uh, check my work schedule." Jeremy said. He left and Margret instantly knew he was lying. She could always tell when he was, it was another one of those weird twin things.

"Hey, guys." She turned, surprised to see Stefan. She knew it wasn't their Stefan, though. Bonnie told her that he'd turned his emotions off. "Who forgot to invite me to the family summit?"

"Since you're not a member of our family, I'd say it's not our fault." Margret said. She got up and went inside, ducking into a booth near the back. After the past couple weeks, she was in no mood to deal with either Salvatore. And all the ghost talk was bringing back memories of her parents' funeral.

Someone came over to her. "Taking a break already?" She turned and saw Alex.

"Not really. I followed Jeremy in here and lost track of him." Margret said. Considering how crowded the place was, it would be easy to lose track of anyone.

"Yeah, this place is crowded. Even more than it usually is on the weekends."

"Probably because of the Night of Illuminations." Margret told him. He sat with her.

"Is everything okay?"

"I don't know. This whole event, it just keeps reminding me of my mom." Margret explained. "She used to volunteer every year, help the rest of the committee."

"It's really been a rough year for you." Alex said, taking her hand. "It's okay if you still miss her."

"When I was little, I wanted to be just like her." Margret said. "Ever since we lost her, my siblings and I turned to each other for support. Now, it just feels like everything's falling apart."

"Well, you can always talk to me about it. I know what it's like to miss someone." Alex pointed out.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." Margret said, lacing her fingers with his. He was her closest friend, and she'd fallen for him late last spring. They were a couple ever since.

"I'll always have your back, Margie." Alex pointed out. "I wanted to ask you something, but…"

"What is it, Alex?" Margret asked.

"Well, I wanted to ask if you'd want to watch the illumination ceremony with me, but if you're not up to it…"

"I'll come. I've always loved watching it." Margret said.

"Cool. I should get back to helping out. I'll see you later." Alex said. They shared a brief, soft kiss before he got up and left. Margret smiled. Talking with him about her life always made her feel better about everything.

Melody and Amy entered the Grill. "Wow, this place is packed."

"Well, it is a town celebration."

"Yeah, but this place is way more crowded than it normally is." Melody pointed out, looking around.

"Do you have the feeling something weird's going on today?" Amy asked.

"What?"

"Just this feeling I have." Amy said. "It could just be my imagination, though."

Margret headed into the bathroom to find Elena, Jeremy, and a girl. They all turned to her in shock. "Do I even want to know?" She asked.

"I just found them in here." Elena said. She turned to Jeremy. "I thought you said she wasn't here."

"Wait, you're Anna?" Margret asked. The girl looked nervous, and she started blushing. Then she realized what happened. "Oh, you've got to be kidding."

Back in the main room, Melody ran into Alex. "Hey, have you seen Margret?"

"I think she went to the bathroom…" He noticed someone sitting by the bar. Melody followed his gaze and seemed surprised.

"Is that Mason Lockwood?" Melody asked.

"Sure looks like him." Alex said. "I thought he'd left town for good after last year."

"Well, Ty has been acting kinda off lately." Melody said. "Maybe he came back to sort things out with him."

"Still, seems kinda strange, don't you think?" Alex pointed out. "For him to just show up out of the blue like this." Melody nodded. This was turning out to be a very strange day.

Back in the bathroom, Elena was on the phone with Caroline. Jeremy was holding Anna's hand. Margret was leaning against a wall. "I remember how my brother felt after you…you know."

"Died? It's okay to say it, you know." Anna said. "We're not all that sensitive."

"Jeremy told us how they took you away." Margret said. "You were one of the good ones."

"Thanks. You know, you're pretty cool for a twin."

"Well, it's nice to know we have ghosts like you watching over us." Margret pointed out. "And you're probably still here because there's still unfinished business with you two. Neither of you got a chance to say goodbye."

"I think that's why, too." Anna said. "But ever since he's been able to see me, I haven't been able to move on."

"Yeah, but he should've." Margret said.

"Hey…" Jeremy began.

"Save it. In case you've forgotten, you have a girlfriend that's alive." Margret told him. Elena had just gotten off the phone when Margret walked past her. She was a little angry that Jeremy basically cheated on Bonnie with the ghost of his past girlfriend, but at the same time, she felt sympathy for Anna. She knew she was a good person and would probably need help moving on.

She was lost in thought, so she didn't see the person in front of her until she bumped into her. "Sorry."

"It's okay." The girl said. She had long, blonde hair and was wearing a denim jacket. She looked a little familiar to her. "Thanks for trying to help them call me, Margret."

Margret looked surprised. "You know my name?"

"You're Elena's sister, right?" She asked. Margret nodded. "If you find her, tell her I'm here to help."

"How do you know about me, anyway?"

"I've been watching you guys try and deal with Stefan the Ripper." She said. "And if I were you, I wouldn't give up the magic and spirituality stuff just yet."

Just then, Elena showed up. "Hey, Margret, can you…Lexi?"

"Looks like today was a good day to be thinking about me, Elena." Margret was surprised. How could she not recognize her?

"Wow. You're a lot prettier than I remembered." She said.

"Thank you." Lexi told her. She turned to Elena. "Come with me."

"Margret!" Amy ran over to her. "There you are, we've been looking for you."

"Sorry." Margret joined the rest of the group at their table. "I got held up. What's new?"

"Apparently Mason's back in town." Alex said.

"What?" Just how many ghosts had shown up in today?

"Yeah, he's sitting right there, chatting with your legal guardian." Melody said. Margret turned and saw Mason sitting at the bar. That's when she knew they were going to have to send the ghosts away.

"I don't think it'll be too big of a deal." Margret said. "He's probably only here for today."

"Yeah, but wouldn't he be spending time with Tyler if that were the case?"

"How would I know, I'm not a relationship expert." Margret said. It came out snappier than she'd intended, but she was having a bad day.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked her.

"Not really, it's been a hard day." Margret told her.

"I can't imagine what this is like for you." Melody said. When they were younger, their families would attend the event together. "You know I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks."

"So, who was that girl you and your sister were talking to before?" Amy asked.

"Lexi." Margret said. "She's one of Stefan's friends."

"Wait, is that the girl we saw him with at that party last year?" Melody asked.

"That's right."

"Thank goodness. Maybe she can straighten Stefan out." Amy said. "You've got to admit, he hasn't been himself lately."

"That's true. He's been blowing off team meetings and when I ran into him last week, he was like he barely recognized me." Alex said.

"You don't think he's on something, do you?" Melody asked.

"No! Besides, after what happened with Vicki, he's way too smart for that." Margret pointed out.

"She's right, but something about him still doesn't seem right." Alex said.

"Could be family issues. I know I'm not myself when I've got that going on." Amy suggested.

"Same here." Melody said. "Remember that time Rob and I wouldn't speak to each other for a week?"

"How can we forget? It nearly tore our group apart." Amy pointed out.

"Yeah, that's one argument I hope we never go through again." Alex added. Margret nodded. She knew the others could handle the ghost problem. Right now, she had to focus on what was happening here.

That night, the group had gathered in the square to watch. Margret and Alex were close to the front. The others were standing at the opposite corner from them. Alex took Margret's hand. She looked at him and smiled. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." Mrs. Lockwood addressed the crowd. "Mr. Fell seems to have been detained, so the history department's very own Mr. Saltzman has agreed to fill in."

"More like he got volunteered." Margret told Alex. He smiled slightly.

"On behalf of Mystic Falls high school historical society, let's light 'em up." The lanterns were lit. Margret smiled, until she heard a scream. They looked and noticed there was a body on the nearest tree.

Alex looked like he was going to be sick. "That is so messed up."

"Come on, we better find the others and get out of here!"

Meanwhile, Melody and Amy were already on their way out of the town square when they bumped into Elena. Literally bumped into her. "Whoa! Is everything okay?"

"Someone hung Mr. Fell's body on the oak tree." Amy explained.

"Okay, what happened?" Elena asked her.

"We were watching the lighting ceremony, and then he just hanging there, dead." Melody told her.

"Okay, come with me. I'll call Rob and make sure he gets you two home."

"What about you?"

"My brother and sister are still out there." Elena pointed out. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't help them? Come on." She walked them to the parking lot.

Back near the square, Margret and Alex were pretty far back from everything else. People were still screaming and evacuating the area. "I have never been so scared in my life." Margret said.

"Everything will be okay, Margret." Alex told her.

"How? There is a dead body in there, Alex!"

"Hey, look at me." Alex said. She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. "We're going to get through this, but panicking about it isn't going to do any good. Trust me, okay?" Margret nodded.

Then she realized who might be behind it. "Okay, let's get out of here and I'll meet you back at my place." Margret told him.

"I don't think either of us should be alone right now, Margret." He pointed out. At that moment, she realized he was just as scared as she was. Only he did a better job at hiding it.

"Okay, then get the car and I'll try to find Elena." Margret told him. "We'll meet with you as soon as we can." He still seemed hesitant, but he left.

When he was gone, Margret thought about Anna. "You called?" Margret turned around surprised.

"How did you…right, one of those ghost things." Margret said. "I thought you might know who's responsible for this sudden fright fest."

"Unfortunately, I do. Some of those tomb vampires are here." Anna told her.

"They just killed someone in public." Margret said. "Please tell me you understand it's why we have to put the veil back up."

"I know." Anna said.

Outside, she and Anna came across Elena and Jeremy talking. Anna turned invisible, even though Margret could still feel her hand on hers. "Where is Anna now?" She asked Jeremy.

"I don't know, okay? I don't even know for sure if she took the necklace."

"She was the only person who heard us talking about it. Of course she took it." Elena pointed out. "We have to get it back. We have to destroy it and then close the door."

"I know, but..."

"But what?" Elena asked. "What, Jer?"

"Oh, dear God. He's still in love with her." Margret said. They both looked at Margret. "It's hard to believe you couldn't tell."

Elena turned back to Jeremy and realized she was right. "I know it's wrong, and I know that I shouldn't feel this way, but I do." He told her.

"But it's not real. She's dead. Gone." Elena pointed out. "Everything that you're hold on to is in the past, Jer. Are you going to love a ghost for the rest of your life?"

Margret looked at her. She knew her sister was right and deep down, she knew she had to let go of making contact with her parents. She walked up to her twin. "She's right. Remember how I had that crush on Johnny in seventh grade? Then his family moved to Texas. I was crushed, but I moved on."

"Yeah, I remember." Jeremy said. "Elena and I had to stage an intervention to get you to snap out of it."

"Well, now you have to move on. But I also know that Anna will always be part of you. After all, she is your first love. And I'm sure the same goes for her." She turned. Anna was standing there, blushing. Elena noticed her, too. Anna showed them the necklace. Margret seemed surprised that she'd taken it.

Elena turned to Jeremy. "Call Bonnie. Tell her that you have the necklace. Get her to send the ghosts away." She started to leave.

Anna gave the necklace to Jeremy. Margret turned to her. "Sorry if I caused any trouble."

"It's no big deal." Margret said.

"I'll be watching you guys after that door closes." Anna told them. "And Margret, I've seen them. They're always watching you guys."

Margret's eyes widened when she realized what she meant. "Thank you. And I hope you find your mother." She added, remembering that hers had been trapped in the tomb.

Anna smiled. "Thanks, Margret. I'm glad I was able to meet you."

Margret turned to Jeremy. "Get to Bonnie. I'll check on Elena."

As she walked away, she felt like a weight had lifted off her. It hadn't taken long to catch up with her sister. They entered what looked like an old jail cell. Margret saw Lexi stake Stefan. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not." Elena told her. She turned to Lexi. "We're running out of time."

"You've got to get me more."

"We can't! Some of the bad ones got loose in town!" Margret told her.

"Bonnie has the necklace, Lexi. They're going to close the door." Elena explained.

Lexi turned back to Stefan. "Okay. That necklace. At least tell me you remember how you felt about that." She told him. "You found it during your darkest time. And you said, when you made it through, that that necklace represented hope."

"Ironic, then, that it's about to be blown to pieces." Suddenly, someone knocked him out from behind.

"Maybe that'll shut him up for a while." Margret said. Elena and Lexi looked surprised and impressed.

"Your sister is hardcore sometimes."

"Well, she does take self-defense at school." Elena pointed out. Margret walked over to her.

"Thanks for trying to help us."

"Hey, I'd always help you guys." Lexi told her. She looked at Margret. "You're a strong person, Margret. Make sure to keep creating those bracelets and using those charms. They'll come in handy."

"No problem." Margret said. Lexi felt it then. She turned to Elena.

"He's still in there, Elena. You just have to break through."

"It's okay, Lexi, I know what to do now. You can be free." Elena told her. Lexi smiled, then looked at Stefan before disappearing.

"I'm going to go. Alex was supposed to pick me up…" Margret looked at her watch. "Ten minutes ago. Darn it!"

"Go on. I'll meet you at home." Elena told her. Margret ran outside. Sure enough, she saw Alex's car across the street.

"How did you know where I was?" Margret asked.

"I followed you." Alex told her. "I saw that you were with Elena, so I figured I'd wait until you ready to leave. You okay?"

"I'm fine. The girls?"

"They went back to Amy's place. Rob picked them up." Alex told her. Margret was relieved.

The ride home was quiet. When they pulled up in front of her house, Alex turned to her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I am now." Margret said, remembering what Anna had said. "Today just brought up so many memories about…what things were like before. Sometimes I wonder what they'd think of these changes, what they'd think of me."

"Well, if your parents were still here, I think they'd be proud of the person you've become." Alex said.

"We all change a little every day. But I hope nothing between us does."

"It won't. After all, I've been into you since we were ten." Alex reminded her.

"Really? I was going through a pretty awkward phase then." Margret said.

"We all were, and while we've changed, our group hasn't."

"True." Margret said. She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. For everything tonight." She got out of the car. Alex smiled, watching her head inside.

"I'll always be here for you, Margret. No matter what happens next."


	47. Ordinary People

Margret met with Elena and Alaric before school. "So, what's up?"

"We think we found a lead that can help us defeat Klaus for good." Elena told her.

"And since you're the one who understands more about mysticism, we might need help." Alaric told her.

"Okay, what is it?" Margret asked.

A few minutes later, they were going over the pictures with the writings on them. "So, these are from that cave you guys found?"

"That's right." Damon said. He and Elena were training behind them.

"Well, I wish I could say something, but…I can't make anything of this." Margret told them. Elena and Damon stopped training. Elena went over to her sister.

"What do you mean? I thought you knew all about this kind of stuff."

"On white magic, spirits, and crystals, but I'm still new at learning runes and signs." Margret told her. "I can tell you guys all the properties of a Jade stone, but when it comes to runes…"

"It's fine, Margret. We'll manage somehow."

Margret got up and left. She might not know much about runes, but she figured some of her friends might know more about the subject, or at least have heard about it.

She found Melody and Alex outside the school. "Hey, guys." Margret said.

"There you are. We thought you were running late." Melody said.

"Just hit the gym this morning." Margret lied. "You know how I like to stay in shape. Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys something."

"Runes? Are you kidding?"

"I'm trying to expand my knowledge." Margret explained as they sat on the bleachers outside.

"Well, if I remember that history lesson from a few years back correctly," Melody said. "Ancient people used them to write names and letters. It was like the ancient version of the alphabet. They often wrote the script in places like caves."

"I see." Margret said. She rubbed her arm nervously.

"There was something else I remember reading, too." Alex said. "About all those tales about rune stones having power."

"I remember that, but I'm pretty sure they were just stories." Melody told him.

"So, how would this have worked?" Margret asked. "If they did have power, anyway?"

"Well, I think how it works is that after you wrote or drew the sign into the stone or wall or whatever, you'd have to call the name of the letter or word written in order to activate it." Alex explained.

"I didn't know you were into legends." Melody said.

"I'm not, but if I read something that stands out to me, I usually remember it pretty well."

"That, or you've read that LJ Smith series one too many times." Melody said.

"Hey, back off." Alex said. "We can't all be into those comedy movies all the time. Besides, I read it out of boredom." Margret smiled slightly.

After school, Margret was sitting in Alaric's apartment, still trying to figure out some of the signs. She noticed some of the pictures were labeled. "Wow, looks like you've been going crazy with the Post-Its."

"Well, it helps to know exactly what you're studying. Besides, you guys use them all the time for your class notes."

There was a knock at the door. Margret turned and saw Bonnie. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Come on in."

"Got your message." Bonnie said. Margret was a little worried about her. She hadn't seen her since ghost incident.

"Yeah, great! I'm sorry that the place is such a mess. I'm obsessed..."

"Brought you the necklace that wouldn't die." Bonnie said.

"Maybe it really is magic." Margret said. Bonnie looked at her. "Sorry, that was stupid."

"It's okay, Margie."

"You okay?" Alaric asked her.

"Been better..."

"Listen, Jeremy's an idiot. I know this with certainty, because I was once a Jeremy. Trust me, he'll learn...Eventually."

"I honestly don't know how I feel about it." Margret said. "It was a stupid thing to do, but at the same time, he can't help how he feels. I don't know if I should slap him or hug him."

"You know you don't have to feel like you have to choose between us." Bonnie said.

"Yeah, I'm not. I'm just saying, I kind of get how he feels about everything." Margret said. "Especially now that our friends are in danger. Again."

"We'll get through it."

"I've been staring at this image all day, wondering why it looked so familiar." Alaric said, changing the subject. "I was right." He held the necklace next to the picture.

"The same design." Margret realized.

"So, your grandmother said this necklace belonged to the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus, right? Now, this symbol is repeated all across the wall." Alaric explained. "I've been trying to figure out what it meant. And now I know..." He wrote something on another post-it and placed it on the photo. Now it read "witch".

"Okay, this is getting weirder by the minute." Margret said.

"No kidding." Bonnie said.

"I'm going to head home." Margret told them. "Bonnie, think you can try and help here? You probably know more about these than I do."

"No problem." Bonnie told her. Margret picked up her bag and left.

Margret was up in her room when she heard a knock on her door. "Who's there?"

"Your brother let us in." Melody told her as she and Alex came in.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Well, we thought about what you asked us and then I remembered this old book I saw in the library." Melody said.

"We figured it would help you with whatever you're working on." Alex said, handing it to her. She glanced at the book in her hands.

"Thanks, guys." Margret said.

"Anytime." Melody said, getting up.

"Let us know how everything works out." Alex told her. He kissed her on the forehead. Then, they left the room.

Margret opened the book and started going through it. It was all about runic letters, signs, and their meanings. She did find a section that explained about how those stones had power, like Alex said earlier. She set it down for a moment. Could the rune stones possibly be what kept the vampires from entering that cave?

After a few minutes, she headed back to the cave. She found Bonnie and Alaric already there. "Hey."

"Hi, Margret." Bonnie said. "Did you find anything?"

"I think so." Margret told her. After a few minutes of comparing notes and going over everything, Elena arrived.

"Hi."

"How'd it go?"

"Well, I learned how messed up their family is." Elena told them. "What about you guys?"

"We filled in what we could." Alaric said. "a Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem etc."

"That's the white oak tree that was used in this cult to create the vampires," Elena said, pointing to a picture of the tree. "Which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed."

"Okay, so tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that." Alaric said.

"Well, trees have multiple meanings when it comes to magic." Margret pointed out. "In this case, however, I'm going to have to agree with Elena."

"What we are not sure is this: we've got the witch symbol and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind." Alaric said.

"That's right. But we can't interpret this sign." Margret said. "There's not even anything close to an equivalent to it in either of these books." In addition to the book her friends gave her, she also brought her book on magic signs and symbols.

"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart." Elena explained. "But... why is that one connected to the witch's death?"

"We don't know. We haven't gotten that far." Bonnie said.

"Wait a minute." Margret said. She got closer and looked at the symbol, then at the other ones that were marked.

"Oh my god! Rebekah doesn't know the real story!" Elena said.

"She thinks it's Mikael who killed the Original witch?" Margret asked.

"Yeah." Elena said. Margret seemed shocked.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked.

"That symbol, it's a mix of vampire and werewolf." Margret explained. "It's the symbol for hybrid."

"Klaus." Bonnie realized. "He's the one who really killed her."

A few minutes later, Margret was at the Boarding House with Elena. "I don't know about this, Elena. I don't think telling her the truth will get her on our good side."

"I know. But she deserves to know."

"Yeah, because you took it so well when you learned about Mom and Dad after...you know." Margret pointed out.

"I know, Margie. But I'm glad you guys told me. If you hadn't, I would've found out eventually." Elena said. "That's why I'm doing this. It's better to know the truth, no matter how hard it is."

They entered the living room, where the blonde Original was sitting. "I thought I told you to leave. Twice!"

"Wow, you sure have attitude." Rebekah turned around. She looked surprised to see Margret.

"What are you doing here?"

"Elena's my sister." Margret told her. "I know what you are and for some reason, I still don't see you as the bad guy."

"Well, that's a welcome relief." Rebekah said.

"How do you know that Mikael killed your mother?" Elena asked her.

"Nik was there. He told me." Rebekah said.

"Here's the thing. He lied." Margret said.

"And how do you know that?" She asked the pair.

"The cave where you carved your family's names is covered in symbols." Elena said. She showed her the pictures they'd studied earlier. "The story of your family: how your parents arrived, how they made peace, the spell that turned them into vampires, and this."

"This is the symbol for hybrid. It's a combination of the werewolf and the vampire symbol." Margret explained. "And this is the one for your mother."

"Her necklace." Rebekah said, recognizing the pattern. Margret nodded.

"And this is the story of her death. The hybrid killed the original witch. Not Mikael! Klaus!"

"No! No, he wouldn't!"

"She put the curse on him. Made it, that he was the only one of his kind. And then she rejected him. With the werewolf gene comes aggression and violence." Elena explained. "When he turned all that was heightened."

Margret could see Rebekah was still in denial. "Think about it, Rebekah." Margret said. "When a human turns into a vampire, they're normal feelings are heightened. Imagine what would happen if someone with the werewolf gene got turned, through magic or not." Rebekah looked at her and realized they were telling the truth.

"He killed her, Rebekah. And then he made up this entire lie about your father, so that he wouldn't lose you." Elena said.

"Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!" Rebekah yelled at her.

"Because we believe everyone should know the truth, even if it hurts." Margret said.

"Klaus killed your mother. He has a hold on you, on me, on everyone he has for a thousand years." Elena pointed out. "We're the only ones who can stop him."

"Shut up!" She grabbed Elena.

"Don't!" Margret shouted. Rebekah turned to her, still holding Elena. She could see she was afraid. "Please. She's all I have." Rebekah looked back at Elena. To Margret's relief, she released her sister. She took her into the hallway.

"Elena, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Elena said. "I'm going to head home."

"I'll catch up with you in a little while." Margret said, looking at the living room.

"I'll be waiting in the car." Elena told her.

Margret walked back into the living room. She saw Rebekah in front of the fireplace, crying. She tried to approach her as quietly as she could. "You know that won't do any good. I can hear your heart beating." The Original said without turning around.

"Sometimes I forget. I'm still sort of new to it." Margret said. She sat down next to her. "I know it hurts. It's not easy losing anyone you love."

"Since when are you such an expert?"

"Well, you and my sister aren't that different. We lost our parents a couple years ago." Margret said. "And then your brother killed our aunt. I still miss them." She put her arm around Rebekah's shoulder. She flinched at the sudden contact, but didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry."

"It hasn't been easy for us, especially now that we're always involved with the supernatural. At the same time, though, at least it keeps life interesting."

"Well, trust me, being a vampire or any supernatural has its downsides." Rebekah said. "Take me for example. I've outlived my mother, I've never really had a chance to settle down, and I'm always wondering if the guy I'm with isn't just using me to gain something."

"What did you want out of life back when you were…"

"Normal?" Rebekah finished before Margret could even ask. "I don't know. I've changed a lot since those days."

"Well, if anything, I still think you're amazing."

"Thanks." Rebekah told her, smiling. "So, why did you come back? Just to check on me?"

"Well, yeah. I hate to hurt people's feelings." Margret said. "And if circumstances were different, I'd want us to be friends. But Klaus is still threatening my family."

"I understand." Rebekah said. "Just to be clear, though, I don't want to be your enemy."

"I just hope that when the time comes, we're both able to do the right thing." Margret told her, feeling a little worried. Rebekah nodded. Margret got up to leave.

"Thank you. I know you were trying to make me feel better about this."

"Well, it helps to have someone you can trust, even if it's just one person." Margret said. She left the house.

By the time she entered her room, it did not surprise her to see Damon was there. His back was to her, he was looking out her window. "Why does it not surprise me you're here?"

"You always could tell when one of us was around." Damon said, turning to face her.

"Well, you never drop in just to say 'hi'. What's up?" Margret asked.

"We found Mikael." Damon told her.

"Does that mean…" Margret began. She sat down on her bed. "That's good news, right?"

"For now."

"Wait, you said 'we'. Did you let Stefan out?" Margret asked him.

"I needed help."

"Well, looks like we all succeeded." Margret said, giving him a small smile. She couldn't help but think of her meeting with Rebekah earlier.

"Is something wrong?"

"What makes you ask?"

"You're getting that look like you're thinking about a problem." He told her.

"I feel bad for Rebekah." Margret said. "After what her family's been through."

"True, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous to be around." Damon pointed out.

"Yeah, that's what everyone said when you first showed up." Margret added. "Then we ended up becoming friends."

"True, but I think it'll take more than girl talk to keep her on our side." Damon said.

"I know what you mean." Margret said. "But in a way, she's similar to us. Well, Elena and me. Deep down, she's still just a girl who lost her mother too soon. I almost wish we weren't enemies with her."

"I know how you feel. But if we're ever going to get Stef back…"

"I know, Damon." She told him. She leaned against her pillow. "I know." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how our family got so messed up."

"All families are messed up." Damon said, sitting down at the foot of her bed. "Even when we were human, it wasn't so great. But you're all getting through this."

"Because we have great friends, not to mention you and your brother really helped us out of some tough spots." Margret said. "Like it or not, you two are part of our family. Part of my family. And I'll do anything I can to help you save him."

"Margie, you're always so bright."

"That's because I believe in you guys." Margret said. She yawned, covering her mouth.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He told her. She nodded slightly, then fell asleep. "Sleep well, Margret." He covered her with the blanket on her bed, then left her room.


End file.
